


Rupegia

by Manasong



Category: Original Work
Genre: Action/Adventure, Anthropomorphic, Dragons, F/F, F/M, Fantasy, Harems, Isekai, Kemonomimi, LitRPG, Magic, Male Protagonist, Multi, Polygamy, Romance, Slavery, Slice of Life, Smut, Transmigration, Unreliable Narrator, Video Game Mechanics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:55:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 92,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25959394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Manasong/pseuds/Manasong
Summary: "You may now kiss the bride."But no kiss ever came.I'm ripped from my wedding and thrown into a fantasy world with game-like elements. It may seem like a game, but that doesn't matter, because this is my reality.Alone, without knowing why I'm here, in a world where I know nothing and nobody, I decide to buy a Blood Slave to have someone I can trust. She helps me raise my head high again and bravely move forward. Together, we're unbreakable. But she won't be the only one by my side, for I know that my purpose in this world can't be accomplished with only her help.Monsters and dungeons plague the land, forcing civilization to protect themselves from the hordes with tall walls. Killing monsters is a daily need, but they aren't the only enemy. I have a "Gift" that allows me to change my "skill points" at will, but many would try to use me if they knew.Step by step, we keep moving forward, always aiming to grow stronger. One day, we'll meet our Fate, and we'll be ready for it. Swords held high, shields tightly strapped to our arms, wings spread apart, spells at the tip of our tongues, minds focused like blades, and our hearts hardened like steel. We'll take on whatever comes our way!
Comments: 24
Kudos: 34





	1. First Day

"You may now kiss the bride."

But no kiss came. The warmth of her hand suddenly vanishes, the feeling of standing on the stable ground switches to the stomach-churning pain of free-falling, and then my consciousness is severed.

"Lily…" I murmur.

My back hurts, my whole body feels like stone, nausea prevents me from trying to get up, and my nose is filled with the musky smell of nature. I finally realize I'm laying down with my eyes closed and my belly up.

Once nausea subsides, I decide to open my eyes, and I see huge trees that almost covers the entire sky. Like cracks on a wall, the crown shyness of the canopies let only small streaks of light pass through.

After regaining control of my body, I manage to sit and look at my surroundings. This is a forest with trees bigger and thicker than anything I have ever seen before; bushes prevent me from seeing too far; and the air is damp and hot.

I get up and notice my body feels weird. I look down and see I'm not wearing my tuxedo, but instead, I have a leather jacket lightly padded with a gambeson, a woolen white shirt, woolen black pants, and some rather uncomfortable leather shoes. On my waist, there's a belt where a sword and scabbard are hanging.

I draw the sword and notice that it's rather light. Oddly, I don't find it difficult to handle, and it's almost as my arm moves on its own as I swing it. Its blade is straight and double-edged, with about 90cm of length. There's space for only one hand on the hilt, which has a cross-shaped guard. The edge is sharp and can easily cut the bushes I swing at. This is not a prop.

"Am I in a renaissance fair?"

_I can't remember getting here, did I hit my head? The last thing I remember is being at my wedding ceremony._

"Lily…!? LILY, WHERE ARE YOU!?" I scream in panic, but no response comes, I'm completely alone. After a few moments, I calm down and continue taking in my situation.

My body still feels weird. At least I'm not nauseous anymore, but now I'm starting to feel scared. I don't know where to go, because there are only trees as far as the eye can see. I also don't remember how I got here and in which direction I can go to find someone. I'm truly lost in the woods with no idea of what to do.

Besides, I've never seen a forest like this. I'm a Canadian living in the cold north where it should be winter and the trees are much smaller. Did I travel to a faraway place to the south, or is it summer and I simply forgot the passage of time?

Time passes while I think about what to do, and I start to feel an itch slowly growing inside my head. It's not on the outside, on my hair, but actually _inside_. Like when water gets on your ear and it gets uncomfortable. It feels like I can almost "touch" it, but it's barely out of reach.

I keep trying to "scratch it while shaking my head, and little by little it, feels I'm getting closer. Then, suddenly, I "reach it" and "scratch it," then a menu opens.

Like a light projection in front of me, I see various columns of black squares with white letters on them, similar to a touchscreen on a phone.

Now I feel like I'm going insane. There's no source of light or medium where the light hits to explain this as a mere projection. It's a floating object that passes through the bushes near me as if it's non-corporeal. It follows my torso but not my head.

Curious and scared, I use my finger to touch the square that says "Status".

A new black square opens and writing can be seen.

Info  
  
---  
Name: | PRESS HERE TO CHOOSE | Age: | 16 | Race: |  Human   
HP: | 100 | MP: | 100 | Magic Power: |  175  
Level: | 1 | Experience: | 0/100  
  
Stats  
  
Strength: | 7 | Endurance: | 8 | Dexterity: | 9  
Speed: | 10 | Intelligence: | 20 | Wisdom: | 15  
Willpower: | 11 | Charisma: | 10 | Piety: | 0  
Perception: | 15 | Sanity: | 9  
  
Other  
  
Status Effects: | NONE | Titles: | NONE  
Affiliations: | NONE  
Companions: | NONE  
Crimes: | NONE  
  
I can't believe this. Mom told me this would happen but I didn't listen. I have now officially gone insane, I'm seeing a video game "status" in real life.

I start panicking a little. This situation isn't funny. Compounding on my loss of memory and waking up in an unknown place, now I'm seeing something impossible to explain: a ridiculous looking menu which makes me believe I'm into some ultra-realistic virtual reality game.

I can feel the pain in my body, smell the forest, and perfectly see everything around; I feel a slight hunger in my stomach; I can feel how uncomfortable these ridiculous clothes are; and I can taste my saliva inside my mouth. Just to make sure, I lick my hand and taste the salt of my cold sweat. All of my senses tell me that this is real.

Is this the future where I purposely erased part of my memory and entered this virtual reality just to feel like I have been transported to another world? This is the only logical explanation that does not involve a supernatural event. But if this has really happened, then there's a huge problem: I see no "Quit" or "Logout" button.

My heart beats like crazy, my vision loses focus, I feel like I can't breathe, my mind is filled with fear, my vision darkens. I'm having a panic attack.

I blink blankly, and I feel like I've just suddenly woken up. Somehow, I've managed to calm myself after the panic attack.

Apparently, I had lied down at one point, so I sit up and look around. I'm still in the same stupid forest as before.

_Fuck._

I need to focus on my only ally here: logic. Logic is my friend, logic is my ally, and logic will help me get through the insanity and ridiculousness so that I can make a proper decision and not break down and starve in this horrible world.

First things first, I have to explore my options. There are more buttons to press on this menu, so let's just pull off the brakes on my skepticism of this fantasy.

On the left of the menu, there are buttons on a column, they are: "Status", "Items", "Skills", "Magic", "Notes" and "Messages".

"Messages" has an exclamation point near it, I assume it signifies that there's an unread message. I open it and there is only one message.

_Sender: God._

_"I'm sorry about this, but there's no way for you to go back."_

Logic doesn't help when God fucks you over. My vision is darkening again, I'm having another breakdown.

I see my "Sanity" in my "Stats" window gong down a point.

This time, I forcefully bring myself back from the stupefied state I was in.

_No, no, no, no, no, no, no~~! I can't get mad, this is a prank, someone is messing with me. A camera is hidden and soon someone will jump out of a bush and laugh at me. I have to keep calm so the entirety of the internet, and then the world, won't have a reason to point and laugh at my situation. It's okay, keep calm, it's all a prank._

_Since this is a prank, why not use magic? I wanna see what kind of special effects they are going to use._

I press the "Magic" button and… a blank black box appears.

_So, I guess I don't have any magic skills yet. Well, let's see how "Items" works. I don't have a backpack, so how are the items going to appear? Hah, it's gonna go *poof* and materialize from thin air or something?_

I press the button and a list appears.

Items  
  
---  
Item Name | Quantity | Item Name | Quantity  | Item Name | Quantity   
Empty backpack | 1 | Spare clothes bundle | 1 | Rock bread | 10  
Dried meat | 10 | Deer waterskin | 5 | Sleeping bag | 1  
Flint | 1 | Kitchen knife | 1 | Skinning knife | 1  
Cooking pot | 1 | Whetstone Q100 | 2 | Wool cloak | 1  
Firewood | 10 | Rose coin | 1 | Gold coin | 10  
Silver coin | 50 | Copper coin | 100  
  
"At least you gave me money, you shit stain of a god."

I press the "Sleeping Bag" button, the menu closes, and above my finger, a transparent sleeping bag hovers.

Scared at the sudden apparition of a ghost sleeping bag, I step back and pull my hand away, but the ghost follows my finger as if it's glued to it.

Trying to unglue it, I press my finger on my jacket, then, with a *poof*, the sleeping bag suddenly materializes in front of me and falls on my feet.

I think I'm starting to get used to the insanity. A sleeping bag materializes from absolutely nothing and I don't really feel anything. Is this "shock"?

_Now… how do I put it back?_

I notice that there's an icon on the corner of the item screen that's animated. It shows a hand grabbing a sword, then bumping a button, and the sword disappears. This animation is on a loop.

I grab the sleeping bag, press the button shown in the animation, and *poof*, the sleeping bag disappears. On the item list appears an entry named "Sleeping bag".

So is there an item limit? Or a weight limit? Is it limited to things I can carry on one hand? Maybe I should write these on my notes and test them later, it should be a priority to understand this if I'm going to be stuck in this fantasy land.

Finally, let's see the "Skills" menu. It has a column with the writing "Skill Points: 10". Below it is written "Acquired Skills," and below that there is [Sword Use 1], which has a minus and a plus sign beside it. It seems I can increase or reduce the skill points at will. Beside this column, there are the following tabs: "Physical," "Magical," and "Miscellaneous." Each of these tabs has over an uncountable number of entries.

"Physical" has things like [Sword Use], [Axe Use], [Shield Use], [Block], [Parry], and [Bow Use]. Some of these look like they might be overlapping, so perhaps the benefits stack, but it sounds troublesome to test. There are others where the name isn't very descriptive, like [Antushi Style], probably related to martial arts schools. Then there are some like [Enhanced Reflexes], [Muscle Explosion], [Hawk Eyes], and [Battlefield Perception] which are interestingly named. There are also dozens of crafting skills like [General Blacksmithing], [Armor Smith], [Weapon Smith], [Jewel Crafting], [Woodwork], and [Bow Crafting]. And finally, there are some ridiculous ones like [Enhanced Sexual Stamina], [Oral Technique], [Enhanced Genital Control], and [Enhanced Semen Recharge].

"Magic" sounds extremely interesting to me. Starting with the standard elements, like [Electric Magic], Space, Light, Dark, Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, and Nature. Then there are the more exotic ones, like Spirit, Summoning, Conjuring, Blessing, Cursing, [Undead Creation], [Bloodwork], and many more. There's magic enhancements like [Mana Control], [Mana Efficiency], [Mana Recovery], [Mana Absorption], [Mana Reflection,] and [Reduced Mana Cost]. Mana seems to be the name of the source of magical power in this world, and MP could mean something like "Mana Points." There are resistances, like [Poison Resistance], [Fire Resistance], and so on. Then crafting, like [Armor Enchanting], [Weapon Enchanting], [Jewel Enchanting], [Alchemy], [Potion Brewing], [Magic Tool Carving], [Poison Brewing], and [Golemancy]. The last seems extremely interesting to me since I have a degree in robotics. And there are ridiculous ones too like, [Slavery Magic], [Sexual Charm], and [Sexual Metamorphosis].

"Miscellaneous" contains things like [Weapon Appraisal], [Jewel Appraisal], [Metal Appraisal], [Ore Appraisal], [Flute Playing], [Lute Playing], [Musical Improvisation], [Singing], [Oratory], [Acting], [Writing], [Housework], [Cleaning], [Washing], and even [Folding]. Then there are some interesting ones, like [Sense Presence], [Hide Presence], [Quiet Steps], [Quiet Action], [Intimidation], and [Charm]. There's even a bunch that's related to language proficiency, but I don't know which one to choose, so I will leave it for later. Some look like they belong into the "Physical" category, but with things like [Charm] and [Sense Presence], maybe they revolve around some weak form of magic, so they are a mix of both physical and magical skill.

Luckily, at the top, there's a search function, but typing on this menu is very awkward. Unlike a keyboard, where you can feel the feedback of pressing a key, this keyboard passes through the finger, so I don't feel anything when I press a button. The feedback is even worse than that of a smartphone.

"Notes" operates like an office computer software where you create and organize documents, and simply write things in them with an awkward, floating, non-corporeal keyboard.

Now that I have seen it all, I need to decide my next step. I have some food, and although something like "rock bread" doesn't sound appetizing, I don't think I will starve to death so soon. But still, if there's no civilization nearby, I need to secure a source of food and water. Perhaps conjuring will give me something to survive, but I'm not sure relying on magic to survive is a good idea. I have no idea what kind of nutrition magically created food has, and I also have no idea of the mana cost of conjuring, or how fast mana recovers. I will need to test it, but testing it now might cost me precious time.

Since I have no idea where to go, maybe it's best to find a vantage point where I can look over the surroundings and search for a river or a man-made structure.

I have an idea. Since I can add or remove skill points at will, I can see which magic gives which spell, so maybe there's something useful in there. Once I put one point into a magic school, it gives me at least one spell. Most magic schools require ten points until the next spell is unlocked, some require five. I don't know what's after level eleven since I don't have enough points.

Although [Golemancy] seems interesting, it doesn't look like it is useful right now. [Conjuring Magic] gives me a source of water, but I'll have to test it later for how much water it gives me. It might also be a good idea to have at least one offensive magic since I seemingly have good stats for magic if it's based on intelligence, like most RPGs.

I wanted some healing magic, but since my "Piety" is zero, I'm uncertain if it's a good idea since in plenty of games healing magic is tied to religion and piety. I'm starting to wish I wasn't an atheist. If this truly is a different world, then I better start believing in the divine seeing how supernatural things are happening around me.

After I look at [Summoning Magic] I get an excellent idea. The first spell for summoning is [ _Summon Small Bird_ ], which might be my best way of finding my way around this forest, so I put a point in it, go to the "Magic" tab, and press the spell's button

For a second, I feel like my blood is being sucked out of my body through multiple places, then a ball of light appears in front of the finger that pressed the button.

Not knowing what to do, I decide to touch the ball. Gravity suddenly starts to apply on it, and it falls on the ground, then stops shining. Suddenly, I'm looking at the sky again.

When my head stops spinning, I understand that I fell on the ground. My vision has become distorted, on one side I can see the sky, and on the other can see the sole of my own boots; my body feels really weird while also light and energetic at the same time; and I feel like I have "grown" more limbs, yet I can't "control" them to understand what's going on; my hearing is noisy and much louder than before; I feel much hungrier than before, and my insides are churning at the same time.

After getting a little bit used to the situation, I raise my upper body. On one side of my vision, I see a small brown bird that looks like a fluffy ball, on the other side of I see… myself? I don't remember looking like this. I'm younger, much younger. This baby face that I didn't see for more than a decade is staring at… me?

After a minute, I manage to get over this mind-fuck. I understand now that this little bird in front of me is my summon and that I'm "sharing" its senses. Things like sight, hearing, touch, taste, proprioception, heat, and maybe even more. There are so many that I'm getting a strong headache; my mind isn't ready for so much information.

_I wish that I wasn't sharing all of those senses_

Suddenly, the sharing stops, and I feel so sick that I almost puke.

A flush of information followed by a sudden cut is too much for me to handle. I have to spend a few minutes controlling my stomach so that I can keep whatever's in there.

After a while, I look at the bird and notice that it's still in the same spot, with its beady little eyes staring intensely at me.

_If all I need is to wish for this "sense sharing" to stop, then I wish that I could only share the sight._

And now my vision is back to seeing two images.

It's not like my vision decreased, it "expanded," and now I can see much more, which puts a strain on my brain and makes me feel a little queasy. At least now I'm sure that this little guy is the perfect thing to help me find civilization.

I look at my status and see that my max MP was halved and that my current MP is now at fifteen points. It seems that either summoning is an advanced form of magic, or I'm just bad at magic even though I have good stats. Also, I didn't put any points into things like [Mana Control], [Mana Efficiency], or [Reduced Mana Cost], so maybe that's why this magic is so expensive. That was a mistake, I wasted a lot of mana points.

But it doesn't matter now. What I need to do is learn how to control this bird.

First, I try to wish for it to move like I wished to stop the sense sharing, but nothing happens. Perhaps it only works with voice commands, which makes it impossible to use it as a puppet.

"Sit on my hand," I order. I open my palm and it obeys.

Seeing the bird suddenly take flight makes me nauseous again, but I guess it's just a matter of getting used to it.

Now, with the bird closer to my face, I can finally see myself properly.

I'm truly much younger than before, I'm really sixteen again. Round face, protruding jaw, full cheeks, traces of pimples, a few characteristic freckles, complete lack of the stubble that made me look manly, and short black hair neatly combed to the side, now slightly disheveled. That's me, the young, baby-faced me. Considering how I'm seeing my younger self through the eyes of a little bird, I can feel my "Sanity" dropping another point.

_I need to get a hold of myself. I'm not supposed to be affected by this anymore, and my safety is the top priority right now. If I really am into some sort of video game, then just by looking at the large number of combat skills I can assume that this is a dangerous world. Not only that, but I'm alone in the woods, which the most common place for enemies to appear, so I need to prepare myself and focus back on finding civilization._

While calming myself, I notice something odd inside my head. Like an itch, I recognize it's similar to the itch that I have to scratch to open and close the menu, so maybe this is related to the [Summoning Magic]? I feel like I don't have to make an effort to scratch it, so I will leave it like this, otherwise, it's possible that I could accidentally dismiss the summoned bird and lose the mana I'd already spent.

Finally, it's time to scout the area.

"Fly high in a circle and come back after two minutes," I order.

Hopefully, it knows what two minutes are. I also defined a time limit since I'm afraid that it won't come back unless I tell it to.

The bird quickly flies upwards and crosses the canopies, giving me a breathtaking view.

A sea of trees, that is how this place looks from above. There are some trees that are much taller, allowing you to see their trunks, and they show huge vines hanging from their branches. There are huge roots thicker than a house that twist around the ground and disappear among the trees. Blue, red, yellow, orange, white, and black patches of leaves paint the sea as if they were drops of paint on a green canvas. The sky is completely clear and blue, showing me that this isn't a completely alien world. The sunlight reflects on the leaves and creates beautiful twinkling lights as the bird flies around.

Based on the position of the sun, it looks like it's still a few hours before noon.

Far away, near the horizon, I can see a grassland, and beyond that, just on the edge of my view, I see something that makes my heart stop: multiple black lines stand on top of another black line. It kind of looks like towers behind a stone wall. It's definitely man-made, and not a mountain or a weird tree.

Finally, I have a direction to go. After the bird comes back, I'll order it to fly towards that to investigate more. But wait, that doesn't look like anything modern; it reminds me of drawings of medieval fantasy towns… Just another piece of evidence I'm not in a normal situation.

Suddenly, the bird's view gets shaky and blurry, and a shadow blocks part of it. The bird got captured by the claws of a large, scaled animal.

I don't know what happens if it gets killed, and I fear that a painful feedback could be sent to me if it gets killed, just like it happens in some games.

I immediately "scratch" the itch inside my brain, and the vision of the bird instantly gets blurry, then it slowly goes black. My field of view goes to normal and the discomfort of double view goes away. It seems that I just "unsummoned" my familiar.

This hits me like a bucket of cold water. It shows again that this world is dangerous and I need to prepare.

So far, I only have 1 point into [Summoning Magic] and [Sword Use], I still have 9 unused points so I better prepare.

First, I want healing magic. I bite the bullet and put 10 points in [Light Magic]. I have a suspicion it uses "Piety," and since I have zero in that stat, it might be useless to me.

I go to my "Magic" tab, press [ _Heal_ ]… and nothing happens.

_I guess I was right. If zero "Piety" means that I can't cast it, then maybe it works like a multiplier. If I assume that "ten" is the normal value for the average person, then I might need at least that much "Piety" before it becomes cost-effective._

Well then, at least there's another healing spell I can use. I put five points in [Nature Magic], and it gives me two spells: [ _Constricting Vines_ ] and [ _Regeneration_ ]. Both seem very useful for someone like me that doesn't really want to fight. Then I put two in [Sense Presence] so I can detect enemies coming. I put one point in [Electric Magic] so I at least have one offensive spell: [ _Lightning Bolt_ ]. I don't want to use [Fire Magic] in a forest since I'm not confident I won't start a forest fire. And the last point goes in [Sword Use] making it level 2.

Now, I have two more itches inside my head, with a total of four. Because of some sort of subconscious understanding, I can differentiate between these "itches." One is the "Menu," two are for the [Nature Magic] spells, one is the [Sense Presence] skill, and the last is the [ _Lightning Bolt_ ] spell. With a little bit of familiarity, it seems that it'll be very easy to quickly use the one I want.

My mana is back to twenty, so I think I'll rest some more until it's back to full.

While I wait, I focus on calming my heart so I can do what I need to do. My "Sanity" goes up one point so it's now at eight. I assume that the average is also ten, so being at eight isn't necessarily bad, but I believe this means that I have to work harder on keeping calm.

This is possibly a medieval fantasy world with swords and magic, which means that it's different from my society. I need to be mindful of things such as respecting the nobility, avoiding triggering the superstitions of locals, understanding local laws, adapting to the food and etiquette, understanding the economy, understanding the common sense, and dozens of other small things.

If I fail with this first contact, then I don't know if I can survive until I reach the next town. I can't bring attention to myself, so I should avoid things like [Slavery Magic], [Bloodwork], and [Necromancy Magic], which sound dangerous and potentially illegal. [Summoning Magic] also seems advanced and exotic, and it's best that people don't ask where I learned it, so I should hide it, too. Also, the skill system seems abusive, I could turn from a swordsman, to a mage, to an assassin, to a craftsman, and to a negotiator, all in a small amount of time. It doesn't seem normal for people to be able to do what I did with this skill system. Even the menu and things like "Items" could be abnormal here, so I have to cautious of that, too.

Now I'm starting to accept this might really be another world. "God" may have sent me a message that I can't go back, but there's no evidence of that, it's just the words of a suspicious being that I have never seen before. Perhaps I _can_ go back, or perhaps not, but first, I need to search for knowledge about this world, about teleportation, and about other worlds, _then_ I can truly decide if it's possible or not.

Even if this is truly a game, I can still feel a lot of pain, I can feel the pleasure of the wind, I can feel the hunger in stomach…

_Now that I think about it, I feel like I should eat a piece of meat._

This "dried meat" is too salty for my taste, too hard to cut, and too rubbery to chew. I really want normal food now. I didn't even get to taste the buffet that I ordered for my wedding, and there were so many choices of chocolate candies that I never got to enjoy.

I slap my cheeks to get away from these idle thoughts.

Going back to the previous train of thought, I can feel the satisfaction of eating something, and everything that I should normally feel. For me, this is _reality_ , not a game, so I don't want to live a poor and hard life. If I can basically do anything with this skill system, then maybe I can use it to my advantage and have a quiet, but fulfilling life while I search for knowledge about how to get back.

I sigh and lay back on the cold hard ground. I can see the sun on top of the canopies now, so I guess this is about noon. Also, my MP is now back to full; it took at least an hour of waiting.

_I just wanted to hug you one more time Lily…_

I try to eat a piece of "rock bread", but it's really as hard as a rock. Well, I guess this is why it won't spoil easily. I try to wet it with my saliva and it easily turns into mush. Bland, wet, white bread, delicious.

I have to test [ _Lightning Bolt_ ], too. It's best to know your tools, even if I'm going to waste the mana right now by firing it at nothing.

I scratch the "itch" of [ _Lightning Bolt_ ], and at the point of my left finger, I feel something getting hot. I also feel the sensation of blood leaving my body again, so it must be consuming charging with by consuming my mana

I look at my finger and see that it's shining faintly. I point it forward, and after two seconds of holding it still, a lightning bolt flashes from my finger towards a bush ahead.

After the flash and thunder, I see that the bush is completely carbonized and slightly burning.

I have no idea how to measure damage, but this spell feels dangerous. Maybe it could kill a person in one hit? But there's the status values and HP values, so maybe people can get resistance through "Endurance" or something.

I cast [ _Constricting Vines_ ] on another bush. Where my finger is pointing at, green vines burst from the ground and wrap themselves around a bush. It takes a few seconds for them to wrap around it completely, so I don't think I can use this on an enemy that's moving.

These spells cost me around ¼ of my mana, so I only have four more uses or so of [ _Lighting Bolt_ ].

I think I'll wait again until my mana is full. I also don't know what happens if I use all my mana. In some games, you can feel sick, faint, lose health, or even die, so I'm unwilling to test my mana to the limit.

Finally, after resting again, I get the motivation to move on. Now I need to walk into the direction of town and reach safety.

I walk with [Sense Presence] activated, but I realize it makes me very tense. I certainly would tire of keeping it on all the time. Maybe I will get used to it if I level up or put more points on it, or something like that.

I'm really tense, but I can still appreciate the environment. The trees are all ten to fifteen meters tall, with a girth that would require at least five people to make a human chain around it. The occasional huge root snaking around the trees, randomly going above or below the ground, makes me imagine if they're the roots of one huge tree.

There're also plenty of different bushes and small trees with fruits, mostly colorful berries and grapes. I try to put the fruits into "Items," but they all show a "??? fruit," so I'm not sure what they are or if they're even edible. They look quite appetizing, though.

Then, as I walk through a small patch of blue leaved trees with a white trunk, my [Sense Presence] picks up something different from the animals. Like a radar inside my mind, I feel something "red" a few meters away and to my right.

This skill creates a sort of small radar in my mind where I can "feel" small "dots." So far, I've only seen "white" dots, which are small animals, but this "red" dot feels like something "dangerous."

I suddenly feel a pain in my heart when I notice that the red dot is coming directly to me.

_Did it notice me? Does it also have [Sense Presence]? I can't even see it because the bushes are on the way._

I hide behind a bush and crouch. If possible, I'd like to avoid combat. In games, killing monsters give experience, which will make me increase my "level," but I don't have confidence in my abilities, and I also don't even know what kind of "enemy" is coming.

The presence continues towards me. I notice the intercept route is a little off, so maybe it's just a coincidence that our paths would cross, but it'll still be very close. I can't afford to move and make a noise.

I put my hand on the hilt of my sword.

As I wait for the enemy to come closer, I start to hear footsteps. It seems that the red dot is a quadruped, so perhaps it's a dog? Then I hear the sound of someone sniffing the air. It's smelling me. There's no escape now that it caught my scent; it's going to come to me.

A bush in front starts to move, and out of it, a small wolf-like animal comes out. It has a long snout that gets thinner at the nose, fangs coming out of its closed mouth, and a round body with spines covered in moss. What's not covered in spines are covered in grey fur. It's certainly not an animal that I know.

I freeze for a moment, I'm still not used to the ridiculous things that happen to me, but that was a mistake.

The monster has noticed me, and it immediately bares his fangs, then lunges at me.

_It's coming, it's gonna bite me, it wants to kill me, I'm going to die._

"AAAAAAAH," I scream in fear.

The fight or flight instinct kicks in, and this time, I decided to fight. When the monster gets close enough it jumps, aiming at my face.

While drawing my sword, I aim the blade at it, and it hits the monster on the side of its snout. This isn't a katana capable of Iaido, so I only manage to give it a mere scratch, but at least I deflected the tackle. It passes by my side and falls two meters away.

I turn immediately to face it, and the animal does a move that sends chills down my spine. It lifts the hind legs and lowers the front legs, then the spines move their pointy ends directly towards me and start to shake. In the next moment, they shoot out like arrows.

Through some incredible reflexes or luck, I lunge to the side, hiding behind the nearest tree, but it isn't a perfect dodge. The side of my legs are assaulted by a wave of pain as the mossy spines enter my skin.

I was already filled with adrenaline since a few seconds ago while anxiously waiting for the monster to come, so I manage to ignore the pain, but I'm still panicking, so decide to use my trump card, I start casting [ _Lightning Bolt_ ].

I hear the footsteps of the monster rushing towards me. It has to go around the tree, so it doesn't reach me instantly, but its speed is still faster than I can cast.

I see it, and it jumps again, aiming towards my face, then the bolt flies.

The lightning roars and the animal screams. It tackles me, but it doesn't bite. I protect my face and manage to grab him by the snout. It isn't very heavy, so I manage to not fall back from the impact. Then I throw it to the ground.

Part of its fur is burned, smoke rises from its body, and its eyes are cloudy and possibly fried. It starts to convulse, but it's not dead yet.

Anger runs through my body and I pierce its head with my sword. It twitches for a few seconds, then it stops moving.

_I killed something, I actually fucking killed something…but the feeling of my sword piercing through flesh is disgusting._

"You are now level two," says a female voice.

"W-what? Who's there?" I question and look around, but there's nobody around. After a while, I assume this voice is inside my head, like a video game announcer.

I stand still for some time, thinking about what just happened, but the adrenaline goes away and the pain of the spines piercing my skin starts to grow.

I quickly pull the spines out, but it just makes the pain worsen. Now, my skin trickles with blood and stains my clothes. I notice that four spines got stopped by the leather jacket.

_I guess armor really is useful here._

I cast [ _Regeneration_ ], and a ball of light appears, floating above my left palm. I touch my body with it and remain still for some time. I immediately start to feel calmer as the pain slowly subsides, and a slightly pleasurable feeling course through my body. It seems that this is a continuous spell.

It takes ten minutes, but the blood stops completely, then the wound starts closing, and the pain goes away completely. I guess this magic is not something you use during battle, but it remains in effect for a minute after I stop channeling it.

My mana is now at twenty. I guess I really need that [Mana Efficiency] skill.

While waiting for my mana to recharge, I look at my stats, but disappointingly, they didn't change. Perhaps, like "Sanity," stat values change based on training or other conditions instead of level.

So, now I look into my skills. I have four new points to spend. I use two for the [Mana Efficiency] skill and two for [Sword Use]. Even though I barely used the sword, it was because I made a mistake and kept it sheathed before the battle. The monster was fast and magic has a short delay to cast, so I need to defend myself with a weapon if I get into melee.

I know that there's a [Dismantling] skill, so the corpse of monsters might be valuable. Because of that, I put it into my "Items," and it shows as "Hedge-wolf? monster corpse." I don't understand why there's a "?" there. Maybe it's like the fruits and the naming is based on my knowledge, so it picked the most appropriate name I could think.

I also change my pants since the smell of blood could attract more monsters. The bloodied pants are put into "Items" and get named as "bloody black woolen pants." 

I take out the "spare clothes bundle." It's a neat stack of clothes tied by a small cord. Maybe it needs to be like this so that it can "stack" and be considered as one item instead of each piece of clothing being separate. The bundle also has some linen underwear, which is the same as the one I'm wearing. It's loose-fitting and a little uncomfortable for me.

Now I start to think about this world. It's clear that there are monsters different from animals, and that they are hostile. Unfortunately, this one found me by smell, I believe, so even if I was completely silent, it wouldn't have helped. Maybe there's some magic that erases scent somewhere.

I need to fight and I need to _kill_ what I fight, there's no other way to survive here.

After recharging my mana, I start moving again. Now I feel a little more confident since I calmed my heart, but I'm still feeling rather stressed. The [Sense Presence] skill is taking its toll on me.

After walking what seems like half an hour, I get another hit on my radar. The red dot feels "different" this time, and it's not coming directly towards me.

I hide behind a bush with a good vision ahead and wait until I can see it. After a minute or so, a bush moves and the monster comes out of it.

It's a skinny, little green man with an ugly, oversized bald head full of wrinkles, a large, pointy ear, and a curved nose. It's a goblin, a standard enemy of fantasy worlds. It's completely naked, and its disgusting genital is dangling around, waving as he moves. He's also wounded, and I can see bruises and cuts that are lightly bleeding. In his left hand, he is dragging a long, thin dagger, probably used for piercing.

This is a golden opportunity. A single Hedge-wolf gave me one hundred and ten experience points and let me level up, now I need two hundred points, but every single point counts.

Just a single level in [Electric Magic] was enough to be the difference between life and death, or at least life and a nasty bite on my face. If I want to survive, I need to kill this goblin. The chance of success on this is high unless I'm mistaking the strength of this little green thing. He's not even a meter tall, he should be weak.

_Yes, that's it, I'm charging._

I draw my sword and dash towards him, holding it high above my head. The goblin barely has a chance to react before I'm into range, and I slash downwards.

The goblin has experience in fighting and tries to deflect my sword with his dagger, but it's not enough. He's not fast or strong enough to parry, but he still moves my sword sideways a bit. What was supposed to be a single hit kill by a chop to the head becomes a deadly wound as the tip of my sword sinks into his shoulder. It passes through flesh and bone, entering his chest, then it gets stuck.

"GYEEEEEH!" The goblin screams. A nasty scream so loud that it hurts my ears.

With this, the color drains from my face. He could be calling for allies. I believe I'm in trouble now.

With anger fueling my movements I free my sword from its body, then bring it back and chop horizontally. I decapitate him, and his head rolls away. This is an awfully sharp sword.

I don't have time to be stunned by the bloody scene. If a wounded goblin appeared, maybe there are others who just finished fighting. Even if they are wounded, I have no confidence in fighting more than one enemy, especially if they can just throw things at me, like spears.

I quickly add the goblin's body, head, and knife to my "Items," then I dash into a right angle from where the goblin came from to maximize my distance from where I killed it.

After a minute or so, I slow down and catch my breath. I look at the sword in my hand and realize I forgot to clean it. This is bad because other monsters could follow the smell of blood.

I pull the already bloodied pants from "Items" and use it to remove the blood, then I resume moving towards my destination.

This goblin gave me one hundred and eighty experience points, now I only need ten more for the next level. This is good progress.

Just two more points into [Sword Use] allowed me to properly swing the sword twice and get a kill, so, soon I'll be able to increase the skill some more. Though it was a surprise attack against a small monster armed only with a knife, so I hope I don't find anything worse.

But I do, find what that goblin had fought.

After another hour, I get another hit on my radar. This hit sends chills down my spine. I feel that this red rod is considerably larger than the previous ones, and I estimate that its body size is as big as me, but much longer and thick.

I immediately crouch behind a bush and hide in fear.

The monster is just going to pass nearby, and there's no risk of it getting too close. It's slowly strolling around, and it seems like it doesn't even have a fixed destination, so I assume that it's not searching for me, specifically.

After two minutes, I start to hear the monster walking. it's another quadruped with a very heavy body. Then I hear a small growl, an unmistakable _bear_ growl.

I start sweating cold. Even in my world, a bear is not something you fight with just a sword and a party trick spell.

The bear suddenly stops.

_Did it notice me? How? I can't hear it trying to smell the air._

Then I hear it turn in my direction. I wait for a few seconds, my heart in my mouth, then it growls again, and this time, it sounds angry.

_Yeah, it noticed me._

I should have walked away. I should have taken [Quiet Steps] so that I can walk away from any dangerous encounter, but I didn't think this would happen, I didn't expect that it could so easily detect my presence. I thought the Hedge-wolf was an exception, but I was naive.

Now, what do I do, flee? I'm getting tired, the bear is in the way of my destination, and I'm not sure if I can outrun a bear. Maybe I should fight and test the waters, then flee if the situation gets worse. The problem is, if I get hit once, then maybe I'm dead, so there's no room for a mistake here.

I need to at least look at what kind of enemy this is. The hedge-wolf was just bizarre, but maybe I can see something that'll help me defeat it.

I get up and peek from behind the bush. The enemy is truly a bear, a frightening bear staring at me like a ravenous beast. It has five claws the size of my hand on each paw, fangs the size of my head protruding from its open, salivating mouth, grey fur covering its body. It's wounded, though; I can see multiple pieces of what seems to be spears stuck to its body, there's blood dripping from its face, one eye is closed, and there are multiple bloodstains on its grey fur. It's heavily wounded, so perhaps it's probably what the previous goblin was fighting. I think that there's a chance of victory, but I can't get hit. If I do, I'm dead, so I have to use everything I can to win.

I draw my sword and start casting [ _Lighting Bolt_ ], the bear immediately starts charging. I don't want to use [ _Constricting Vines_ ] because it's too slow, I also have a feeling that simple vines won't stop the charge of something that big.

He's fast, but so is my casting, I manage to cast my bolt twice before he gets into melee range. The spells slow him down enough so that he can't trample me, and the smell of burnt flesh fills the air.

He gets on his hind legs and tries to use his huge paws to swipe at me. They're too slow, so I jump backward and cast again, making him roar in anger.

Now he's angry. With a sudden burst of speed, he waddles a little closer and swipes with a speed that catches me by surprise. All I can do is defend myself with the sword as the claws hit the blade and the massive strength sends me flying.

I hit a tree and air leaves my lungs, then I feel immense pain in my back.

My vision becomes blurry, but I manage to cast again. The spell hits the bear on the snout, then it stops its attack and starts convulsing.

An opportunity! I could run away, but now bloodlust clouds my mind. Anger makes me move forward, and the sweet deal of getting a large amount of experience fills my thoughts with greed. I charge forward.

How long are his convulsions going to last? I don't know, but since this is low-level magic, it's likely to be short, so I start casting again.

A strong headache attacks me, so I think this is the last spell I can cast before getting drained.

The bear stops convulsing, then he looks at me and roars again. I finish my cast at point-blank range.

The bear flinches in pain from the spell, then I thrust with my sword and it goes through his eye, hitting the back of his skull. The bear twitches a little, and his body gives up then falls limp on the ground.

"You are now level five," says the female announcer again.

I look at my stats, my MP is at minus four. A massive headache flares and my vision goes black.

I slowly recover my consciousness. My back hurts a lot, I'm shivering, I have difficulty to breathe, and my head hurts so much I don't think I can even stand.

While laying down, I look into my stats and see that my MP is at ten but my HP is at ninety.

_Even though I blocked the attack I got damaged. Scary._

My "Magic Power" grew by five and my maximum MP by ten. I now have twelve new skill points, so I put them all on [Mana Efficiency] and cast [ _Regeneration_ ] on myself.

It takes another ten minutes, and I heal until I only have one MP left. It helps with the back pain, but the headache worsens, and I'm still feeling very tired.

I simply rest on the ground until my MP reaches twenty, then I use [ _Regeneration_ ] again and the back pain subsides enough to let me stand.

I look around and see that the bear is dead with my sword sticking out of its eye.

_I did it, I fucking killed a huge bear, a monstrously large bear. Fucking hell._

I take the sword out and clean it on the bear's own fur, then I grab a paw and store the bear on "Items. Now I need to properly distribute my points.

I have thirty-one points total, so I put them like this:

PRESS HERE TO CHOOSE Skill Report  
  
---  
  
Physical  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Sword Use | 5 | Dodge | 3 | Quiet Steps | 5  
Sense Presence | 3  
  
Magical  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Mana Efficiency | 3 | Mana Recovery | 2 | Electric Magic | 4  
Nature Magic | 5 | Summoning Magic | 1  
  
Miscellaneous  
  
I should at least be able to use [ _Lightning Bolt_ ] five times without fainting, perhaps one more and then fainting. I don't know which is more efficient, [Mana Efficiency] or [Reduced Mana Cost] so I'm just gonna bet on efficiency. I don't have time to test them since it's way past noon now, and I need to keep moving. I also prefer to spread out my capabilities instead of focusing on only one thing. I need to be versatile and adaptive here.

With unsteady steps, I start moving again. I'm still hurting, my HP is at ninety-eight and after another rest, my MP is at forty.

The range of [Sense Presence] a bit with two more points and it makes me less tense, which is good since I still have a headache.

I can see my MP gradually going up even while moving, so [Mana Recovery] is a good investment. I heal myself again while walking, then the headache and back pain finally stops, but I'm still feeling very tired.

After another hour, I get another hit. This time, I know it's another goblin.

I don't want to fight anymore, I'm too tired, but I need to test [Quiet Steps] and how close I can get before he notices me.

Usually, in games, goblins usually attack in numbers to compensate for their lack of intelligence or equipment, so finding a single goblin is lucky. Maybe not so lucky since I also met what made them scatter, but still, this situation is a lucky find.

I activate [Quiet Steps] and start moving. My footsteps are much quieter now. It seems that the skill isn't straight-up magic, it seems to only give me a very strong intuition on where and how to step so that I don't make a sound.

I notice that the goblin is standing still. I manage to catch a glimpse of him, and he's looking downwards, so I circle around to get behind him and continue approaching.

From an opening in a bush, I notice he's treating himself. He has a nasty cut on his shoulder, and he's wiping it with a seemingly clean cloth.

_How smart is he?_

Then I notice that he's wearing a small leather jacket and that he has a wooden spear with a shining metal tip next to him. He's not the same as the other goblin, this one is more experienced and seemingly much smarter. He also has better equipment. I need to kill him with one attack.

I carefully approach, inching closer, little by little.

_I must have patience._

He's barely within reach of my sword.

"Gah?" He leaks a sound and looks behind, but it's too late.

I lunge forward and my sword stabs his throat.

I pull the sword out and he pressures the wound as he writhes on the ground. All he can do is garble some words and gasp for air while slowly dying from drowning in his own blood.

He stares at me intensely. His beady little eyes don't contain anger but only surprise. Maybe he's surprised he got attacked, or just surprised he's going to die.

I'm feeling nauseous at this scene. He's way too human for me to just watch this.

Perhaps I made a mistake. Perhaps he's conscious and a person who belongs to a community in this world. Perhaps I committed a crime. I never allowed those two goblins to attack first; I surprise attacked them both.

I can't look at this anymore, so I decapitate the goblin.

_Shit, I feel even worse now._

He gave more experience than the last goblin, but it's not enough to level up again. I look at my status and see that my "Crimes" section is still saying "NONE." This gives me a little comfort, but only a little.

I put him and his spear in my "Items," then I turn back to keep going towards my objective again and see something frightening.

A human skull, multiple bones, and a skeleton torso are laying at the foot of a huge tree. The bones are small, but they are definitely human, or at least I think they are. Goblin heads are seemingly much larger than this skull.

Then I see something besides the skeleton, a ruined backpack. 

I now remember that the goblin's equipment was rather dusty and old looking. The spear was clean, but it was chipped. It seems that the owner of this equipment was the skeleton remains. The goblin had just found it by chance.

When I look inside the backpack, I see a small ruined notebook. I open it, and while it's mushy and the words are blurred, I can still discern some foreign characters every once in a while, so I remove one point from [Sword Use] and start adding it to each of the language skills in my "Miscellaneous" tab.

After a few minutes, I finally find the language this notebook was written in, it's Norvok.

I have to put five points in the language for me to be able to make sense of what's written. Also, it seems that the maximum for language is ten.

This notebook is a diary. A dwarven young man was traveling to the other side of the continent and writing about his travels. There are tellings of what was eaten, killed, who he talked to, and minor random details. I can't absorb anything from the culture just by reading this, but it helps me discover the language used by the locals, it's called Andraste.

There's no identification, so I don't know the name of this dwarf. I feel like I should bury him, but I don't have a shovel and neither the energy nor the time to waste here, so I just put all his bones in a pile and continue on towards my objective.

After another hour of walking, and I finally see something glittering beyond the trees. It's grass, grass touched by the sun. I have finally reached the border of the forest.

I start to run. I don't care if I find another monster, I just want to see what's ahead. If it's really a town, then the last stretch of my journey is close, and with that, comes safety.

The view opens up, and the forest finally ends. I'm now in a grassland, and I see a beautiful sight. The tall grass reaches my waist and waves with the wind, the green is painted with the gold of the reflected sunlight. It's a calming picturesque view that makes me wish to just lay down and relax, but the most beautiful sight is beyond the grassland.

I see the stone wall, around twenty meters tall, with towers double its size behind it. Very far away, to the left of where the wall ends I can see something resembling wagons behind a chest-high cobble wall, then I people walking between the wagons.

_Finally, civilization._

I remove [Quiet Steps] and [Summoning Magic]; reduce [Sense Presence], [Dodge], and [Electric Magic]; then put ten points in [Andraste Language]. With preparations done, I start running towards the wagons.

As I run, I manage to take in the sights, and I see the top of other buildings beyond the wall. They have odd, crooked shapes, they're made of a mix of dark and light wood, and white and dark blue cobblestone.

It's like someone partially demolished a cobble building, then used whatever wood it had to rebuild it. They don't look hastily made, though, as both the stone and wood are full of relief, details, and decorations. Some buildings increase in diameter with every floor, and some have an assortment of statues and other decorations on the supporting pillars. Truly an odd town.

Beyond the chest-high cobblestone wall, I see plantations, so they must be farms.

As I approach the wall, I attract attention from the people ahead, and some men with cloaks wait for me behind the chest-high wall.

With that, my energy runs out. I realize I haven't thought of a story to tell them yet. Even if I can communicate, it's best that I don't tell them I came from another world, or tell a lie, like I lost my memories or something similar. There's a probability that I will be taken advantage of if I do that, so I need to decide on a believable story.

I kneel and try to hide under the waist-high grass, then I take out my backpack from "Items" and fit a few things on it, like the sleeping bag, cooking pot, change of clothes, pieces of food, knives, and some coins. Now, my backpack is full and heavy, so I continue moving forward. I hope nobody noticed I didn't have it on me before.

As I get closer, I notice the men looking at me are wearing a hauberk with a grey tabard, and a mail coif. Swords hang from their waists and they have kite shields strapped to their arms. The tabards are black with a simple white kite in the middle, which has a golden sword and a rose crossed over it. This must be the heraldry of the town's lord.

_Is this really Earth? It looks like I'm a medieval fantasy world._

When I get close enough, I count four men and two women soldiers watching me.

"Ooi, are you okay?! Are you an adventurer?!" Shouts one of the men.

_Adventurer? No, that sounds dangerous, I'm just a traveler._

Their speech sounds really odd to me. I hear foreign words, but in my mind, I perfectly understand what they mean. This must be the effect of the language skill.

"N-no, I'm just a traveler. I got lost in the woods and got attacked!" I answer.

The soldiers start murmuring with each other. They seem friendly but surprised.

Once I get close enough to properly see their faces, one of them starts talking.

"Wow, you look really young. You're also really lucky, just two days ago a culling was done in the forest, so there are barely any monsters about, but still, you need some skill to survive all by yourself. Anyway, are you going to enter the town?" He casually asks.

"Yes, please. I'm tired, I really need some rest," I answer.

_Lucky? Pff. If that's being lucky, then please wake me up from this nightmare._

"Alright, I'll process your entry, come with me. Now everybody, back to your stations!" The man barks as he glares at the other soldiers, and they all disperse immediately. I notice that this man wears a golden armband on both arms, so perhaps he's the leader of the watch.

I could only look at them for a short time, but these men and women are all tall, burly, and have attractive faces. I'm rather surprised they aren't uglier.

I jump over the wall and fall on a raised cobblestone road, then I follow the leader. We pass by two stopped wagons, each has another soldier writing something with a… pen? It looks like a thin metallic cylinder with a very small jewel at the tip.

Both the civilians the guards are talking to have some finely embroidered woolen clothing that makes my clothes look like rags. One even has a beautiful silk cloak. I guess they must be merchants.

We walk through a long, wooden bridge lowered across a moat, then we pass through a huge portcullis, and we finally enter the town.

Ahead of us, there's a short row of boring and bland buildings. After that, the spectacle of crooked, bizarre, and beautiful buildings starts. Perhaps the boring ones are barracks.

The man leads me into a small office stuck on the wall. Inside, I see a few simple wooden chairs around a wooden table with has a few sealed scrolls on top of it.

"Alright, sit." He casually orders and motions to the chair. Once I obey, he continues, "Do you have any identification?"

I sweat a bit. I don't even know what this "identification" is, so I need to lie here.

"No, I lost it when I got attacked. I had another bag, but it got torn," I answer, doing my best to keep a poker face.

He lazily raises an eyebrow. "Right. Well, will just use the Inspection Crystal, then. Is that alright with you?" He asks, and for some reason, that last part was said in a very stern tone.

_I have no idea what this "Inspection Crystal" is so I'm just gonna go with the flow._

"It's ok," I calmly answer.

"Then wait here. Let me grab it in the other room," he says and leaves without waiting for an answer.

_Perhaps this stone will see my status window. The name is obviously suggestive._

When I open it, I notice I haven't written my name yet, so I hastily try to awkwardly write down my own name on the floating, touchless keyboard.

_Wait no, my name sucks, it's time to choose a cool name my parents were too boring to pick for me._

I choose "Wolf Ryder."

The man comes back with a simple box where a crystal ball and tablet are cushioned. Looks slightly expensive.

"Alright, put your hand on the ball and keep it there until I say otherwise," he says.

I obey, and when I touch the ball, the transparent crystal tablet changes color to black, and white letters start to appear. I see that the letters are in Andraste.

The man reads the tablet, and from the short time that I could see it, I noticed the first thing written was my new name. I'm glad I took the time to write it.

He knits his eyebrows and says with a worried tone, "Hmm… there's nothing wrong here, but you're awfully low level for someone of your age, and what's up with those skills? No Conjuring, Fire, Space, or even [Light Magic]? Also, no [Farming] or [Housework] or any other life skill here. Pff, haha, what kind of sheltered child are you?" He raises his eyes towards me and smiles bemusedly.

"Well… uh, I’m…" I try to answer and look away.

Well, he's not lying. My life on Earth could seem sheltered in comparison to the people of this world. I could come up with an excuse, but that would just give more rope to the conversation. Even if he looks down on me, I shouldn't speak carelessly.

"I'm a bit sheltered, yes," I respond and blush in embarrassment.

"Hah! it's kind of a miracle you survived the Sea of Trees… Well anyway, go to the monster hunter guild or the dungeoneering guild if you want to survive here. You might have some skill in combat, but it's useless if you die out there alone," he talks down at me like I'm a kid, which he knows I am since he saw my age in my "Status." "Now, let me see what's in your backpack," he continues, and his stern tone returns.

_The way he said Sea of Trees makes me think this is the true name of that forest._

I open my backpack and show all the things that I have inside.

"Alright. The ball says you don't have an [ _Item Box_ ], so the tax is just gonna be one silver coin for entry, and five copper for using the status stone."

 _[_ Item Box _]? Perhaps it's different from my "Items" ability. There was something called [Space Magic], so perhaps [_ Item Box _] could be found there?_

I silently pay him the amount.

He advises me like one advises your little brother, "Go look for a guild and make your identification there. You don't need to pay tax depending on which ID you show." A subtle glint appears in his eyes. "Also, is this your first time here? I can sell you a map for 10 copper coins." He grins showing a set of very white teeth.

"Alright, I’ll take one."

I pay him and he hands me a sealed scroll made from a roughly textured paper.

He shows a business smile and says with a practiced tone, "Then that's all. Welcome to Rabanara, the great fortress on the shore of the Sea of Trees."

I ask for an inn recommendation within the middle price range, and he tells me to go to the Resting Spring's Inn, then makes a dismissive gesture with his hand.

The map is quite crude and lacks beauty, but it gives the location of all the important locations. The Bazaar, the Flea Market, the Farmer's Market, the Guild's Corridors, the Crafter's Corner, the Gambling Den, the Theater, the Carnival Field, the Colosseum, the slums, the commoners' area, the Nobles' quarters, the multitudes of inns, and the brothel district. After some searching, I found the Resting Springs.

As I walk through the streets, I see a large amount of weird-looking people. People with animal ears, tails, claws, snouts, patches of fur, animal looking digitigrade feet, and hands that almost look like paws in any sort of combination imaginable. People with horns, tails, wings, and plenty of other weird body parts. Skin colors of all the colors of the rainbow. Most wearing very revealing clothing, and plenty are floating around or flying slowly. Their clothes go from delicate togas and kimonos, to rough and boring medieval clothes, some even use straight-up animal pelts. A carnival of people with mismatched armor and weapons. With body types ranging from big, burly, and tough, to small, cute, and scrawny.

All those things in combination with the bizarre architecture makes me feel like I'm actually the normal and well-dressed one. I see even a few small animals that look a bit human-like in their behavior. They run around like children, appearing and disappearing out of thin air.

Surprisingly, the town looks clean and doesn't smell. Behind nearly every wagon, there is a floating yellow broom that sweeps the floor by itself without even lifting dust, like it just disappears. Perhaps these are spells that keep the roads clean.

The inn is close by. There's still a few hours until sunset but my body and mind are exhausted. All I want is to rest for a little while.

The inn is a large building. It isn't as crooked as the other one, and it's made entirely out of cobblestone. It has three floors and gives off a rustic feeling. There's no spring, though.

Once I enter, a middle-aged man with a small chin, brown hair, and small circle glasses greets me from behind a desk while he writes in a book with an ink quill.

"Welcome to the Resting Springs Inn. Would you like a room?" He asks with a kind tone and a gentle smile.

"Yes, please. What kind of rooms do you have?" I respond.

"We have a few single-bed rooms on the third floor. On the second floor, there's still space in the communal room."

_The communal bed might be one cheap room where multiple people sleep together. No, thank you._

"Single bed, please," I ask.

"That'll be one silver a day, would you like to reserve the room for multiple days?"

_Uh… my brain is not working properly._

"Ten days…" I guess.

He nods and smiles again. "We also give breakfast and dinner, five copper for each meal. During dinner, the public bathhouse is open, and the bath is included with the meal. You can reserve a room for bathing for ten copper. There's also a magician responsible for the bath that you can rent personally for fifteen copper at any time."

"I would like both meals for each day. Also, what's the exchange rate for silver and copper coins?"

He stares blankly for a moment, likely surprised at my question, then he recomposes himself and answers in his usual gentle tone, "Avgi silver coins are equal to ninety copper coins."

Perhaps this is not something people normally ask him. Also, now that he said "Avgi coins" I notice that there's something written in the coins. It's written in the [Andraste Language], but it's only a few letters and some numbers, so perhaps it's some identification?

I pay the innkeeper and he gives me a key with the number 304 on it, and a smaller black key.

He assumes a practiced tone and says, "Here it is, room four on the third floor. The smaller key opens a safe. Once you leave, give me the room key, but keep the safe key, and don't leave anything valuable outside of the safe. The safe can only be opened by us after your stay ends. Finally, would you like to be called for breakfast and dinner?" He gives me a business smile.

_I don't have a watch or an alarm clock. I'll never get up at the right time without them._

"Yes," I awkwardly respond with a nod.

He turns the book around and hands me his ink quill, then points to a blank line. "Please write your name here," he asks.

I start to write my name and my hand just moves by itself. It's a very odd feeling, like I'm doing things by reflex only. I don't really know what I'm writing until it is done and the language skill tells me that I've written "Wolf Ryder." The squished characters are a bit difficult to tell apart, but something tells me that my calligraphy is perfect.

"Thank you for your patronage," he says and bows slightly. I nod and walk towards the stairs.

The inside of the inn is made entirely of light brown wood. It's simple and a little small, but perhaps they just want to maximize the number of rooms. I notice that shining jewels on the ceiling are illuminating the inn; they're basically weak light bulbs.

I enter my room and lock the door, then I take my sword belt, boots, and jacket off. I sigh in relief, then I drop on the bed and fall asleep.

I dream of the unpleasant sensation of cutting flesh with my sword.

A knock on the door wakes me up.

"The dinner is ready, the bath is hot," says the voice of a young woman.

I don't know what the bed is made of. It's not hard, but it's not really good for my back. I might need to search for a proper bed if I'm going to stay here for a while.

I put my clothes back on and go downstairs.

On the first floor, there's a communal hall with a few square tables and chairs. A small number of commoners are sitting about, waiting for the food, and I see more people are coming down the stairs.

I sit and wait, and soon, a plate comes to me. Vegetable stew, a piece of roasted mutton with spice and herbs, and a piece of fluffy, white bread. It tastes okay, the stew lacks some spice, but the mutton is well done. Perhaps due to the number of woolen clothing sheep are the common staple.

After eating, I go through the back door and reach the baths. Contrary to every single fucking medieval novel, baths aren't that rare. The Romans loved baths, you know, bathhouses were a thing throughout history, you know.

I ask the attendant at the front how it works. It uses the heat of the kitchen, coupled with the help of a mage, to heat the water of the bath, so that's the source of the mist coming out of the doors ahead. It makes me quite happy that I'll be able to get some hot water to sink in, and not just a towel bath.

For four pieces of copper, I'll get a towel, a very small piece of rough soap, and a sponge. The bath is divided into three parts: men, women, and mixed. Using the men or women's costs another piece of copper. Curiosity got the best of me and I enter the mixed, which is free for the patrons of the inn.

Let's say that some light prostitution is going on over there. I immediately leave and pay for the men's bath. I'm not a puritan, but seeing sex live is too stimulating for me right now.

The etiquette is that you first gather a bucket of water, then use it to wash away all the dirt with the sponge and soap, then you're allowed to relax in the pool of hot water.

So I start washing, but I start to feel conscious of my body. Most men here are somewhat handsome. I'm not ugly and I have a cute baby face, but damn, are all the people in this world at least somewhat attractive?

When I get out of the bath, it's already night, and the people are either going to bed or to a tavern to drink. I don't really drink, so I go to bed early today.

I lay down on my not so comfortable bed and spend some time reflecting on what happened today. I got sucked out of my wedding into a painful, dangerous, magical, insane, and ridiculous world. I killed two humanoid beings in a very gory way, I killed a bizarre animal, and I killed a huge bear that almost killed me. If not for [ _Regeneration_ ], I think I would be dead now.

_What kind of god would throw me here at this precise timing? Fuck you, God. Or help me, help me because I want to go home, I want to see my wife, I want to hug her, kiss her, and have sex with her, then have her fall asleep in my arms and wake up seeing her smile. Fuck this world. Or help me, please. God, help me._

I feel something "change" inside of me. I open my "Menu" and see my "Status." My "Piety" increased to two.

I break down and cry myself to sleep.


	2. Second Day

A knock on the door wakes me up.

"The breakfast is ready," says a young male voice.

The nightmare didn't end. I'm still here, stuck in this world.

I didn't sleep well because my back hurts, but since I went to bed soon after sunset I've at least managed to sleep for a long time, so I'm not that tired. I had a few nightmares, though, and one of these was simply me staring at the goblin drowning on his own blood. That scene was way too brutal for me; it still creeps me out.

I look at my stats and see that my "Strength" increased by 1 (now 8). I guess yesterday's effort was rewarded.

My mouth feels horrible. I have to buy a toothbrush, a hairbrush, some soft sleeping clothes, a better blanket, a proper pillow, more spare clothes, and underwear. I also have to clean the bloody pants. I saw that there's a well outside for cleaning. I can just buy soap from the bath attendant yesterday, and she can use magic to instantly dry my clothes. Sounds convenient, but also not.

I put on my clothes and go downstairs to eat breakfast. It's bean paste, which reminds me of home a little, roasted vegetables, and a loaf of slightly sweet bread. I realize sugar might be expensive so this bread is actually high quality. As a sweet tooth and chocolate addict, the only thing I can call this is "boring."

While eating, I think about what I should do next. The guard said to get an ID at the guilds, depending on what ID I have I don't need to pay customs tax. But first, what exactly should I do in this world?

I want to go home, but to do it I need knowledge. I saw that there's a magic university here, so perhaps they have a library that I can use, but I don't think it's going to be free. I think that historically, religious buildings like churches could have people knowledgeable about the world, so perhaps I could go to them for advice. The map shows that there's a temple in the middle of the town.

Regardless, I'm going to need to find a job and acquire money for steady living. With my skill system, I could start a crafting business, but factories in this age might not have good workers' rights laws, which might make it easy for others to exploit me. Also, I'm more of a creative type, I'm not good with manual labor.

Perhaps I could bring technology from my world here, but that's risky and it's really going to call attention to me. Inventions take a lot more than just being the first to do it, there's a need for a lot of economics and security knowledge to safeguard the profits of inventions, and I know nothing about either of these.

If we are going to assume this is an adventure and role-playing game, the most straightforward method of acquiring money is killing monsters. The map shows that there are a dungeoneering and a monster hunter guild, so adventuring might be a risky but also valid way of work. With the way that my skill system works, I have an incredible advantage in combat.

I also need Experience to increase my level and get more skill points. I don't know how to acquire Experience besides killing monsters, but perhaps there's another way to acquire skills like training or taking an apprenticeship, though I need connections and a proper career path for that.

So in the end, my first move should be to go to the monster hunter and dungeoneering guilds. But first, I'll buy a hairbrush and a toothbrush. My breath feels horrible right now.

Now that I'm rested and much calmer, I notice that this city is bizarre but also kind of inspiring. The different architectural styles are all very interesting, and even the contrast between them has a charm of its own.

The people also have their own sense of style. It's like this town is a hub for travelers from around the world, and they all bring their own piece of home with them. Some alleys are dark and ugly, others are comfortable and calming, some have vines and unidentified plants growing all over, others have lights and moving metal parts that remind me of steampunk. The people are all energetic and positive interactions abound.

Maybe it's just that I'm in the good part of town, or maybe I'm just feeling lonely. Yeah, let's go with lonely.

After some walking, I get to the monster hunter guild. The building looks menacing. Fangs and bones decorate the protruding pillars, skins and scales of all kinds decorate the walls, and an even bigger carnival of colors than the rest of town makes me question the sanity of the architect. A large skull with a long snout and huge teeth but lacking a jaw is hanging over the entrance. The teeth are sunk on the wall as if the skull is biting the building itself.

I cross the large double doors and I'm greeted by a large number of people talking over tables decorated with the same ridiculous style as the building's walls. Most of them are drinking unknown liquids from tankards, and there's no way it's not alcohol.

I get the impression that some of these people must drink alcohol like water even though we're still in the morning.

The first floor of the building is one large hall filled with tables. Over one wall, there's a set of large boards with pieces of paper stuck on them. If this follows the traditional game template, those are the bulletin boards and the papers are requests for extermination.

On another wall, there's a row of booths filled with men and women wearing a dark blue velvet uniform, some simple yellow embroidery to make the uniform prettier, and a badge on their chests of a crossed fang and sword. That's the symbol of this guild, and it's the same one on the double doors.

I walk towards one of the booths.

"Welcome, how may I help you?" Says a middle-aged female attendant. She's a beautiful short-haired brunette that shows an air of experience.

I smile gently and answer, "Hello. I'm a traveler and I just got into town. I came from a small village, so I'm rather ignorant of the way things are done around here. Can you explain this guild to me? What I was told might not be fully correct."

The attendant opened her eyes in surprise. I guess this is something that's unusual to ask.

"Well, this guild is very simple." -Her eyes gloss over and she begins speaking in a robotic voice- "This is a place for people that hunt monsters to gather, party up, and trade or sell their spoils. The army does regular cullings to keep the monsters in check, but they also sometimes employ hunters from the guild to help the culling. Outside of the culling, other parties also hire hunters to catch monsters for their ingredients that can be used to create valuable items, potions, food; as escorts for a merchant caravan; for expeditions inside the Sea of Trees or dungeons; or to simply protect something. Every once in a while, a special and dangerous monsters appears, and hunters specialized in tracking are then sent to hunt it down. In cases of emergency, the hunters are also called and forced to help defend either the city, the people, or the buildings in the vicinity of Rabanara. Those are the main functions of hunters on this guild."

She takes a breath and immediately continues, "On our side, we buy any monster corpses or organs, intact or not, then we evaluate them and give out the proper rewards. The advantage of selling to us is that we have experts in dismantling and evaluation of monster parts. We do not haggle and only buy at a fixed price. We also buy parts without the need for a buyer since we're able to stock parts. If you were to go to the merchant guilds you could sell for higher, but there might not be anyone buying it at the moment.

"On the second floor, you can use the meeting rooms to discuss things with your allies, and we guarantee a [ _Silent Room_ ] enchantment on each room. On the third floor, there is the administration personnel that you can consult for more serious matters. Behind this building, there's the training grounds. For ten copper, you can use it and train with our instructors for a full period."

I assume period means from morning till noon or from noon till dusk.

"We are a sister guild to the dungeoneering guild, but we're the ones who manage and organize the hunters. We also help assess the danger of monsters and the ability level of hunters to minimize death or harm. The dungeoneering guild holds all records of dungeons, monsters, and they help acquire the tools used in expeditions.

"People who register at the dungeoneering guild are called explorers, those that have registered at both guilds are called adventurers. Finally, registering at either or both of the guilds allows you to enter or leave any town without paying tax as long as you don't hold any export good on you or in your [ _Item Box_ ]. If you acquire the favor from the guildmaster, or someone with equal or higher authority, then you can pass the gate without having the contents of your [ _Item Box_ ] read." The woman finally finishes and takes another breath.

She seemed surprised at my question, but she was able to answer it perfectly. I guess they are prepared for ignorant people like me, and it's just that I'm a rare find.

"Hmm… So how do I register?" I ask.

"Two silver coins, a drop of your blood, and we give you your crystal ID tablet. Also, during registration and afterwards, we periodically ask to inspect your tablet. This is to make sure that no criminal and no person who learned forbidden skills is using our facilities."

"Forbidden skills?"

_I knew there was something like this._

"[Necromancy Magic], [Bloodwork] and [Undead Creation] are the only ones whose names we are allowed to mention. [Slavery Magic] and [Blood Magic] are also forbidden unless you're registered."

_So slavery is also sanctioned in this world._

"Alright, I would like to register."

The guard already saw my ID when I entered the town, so there's no problem here, but I need to be careful of which skill I choose or I might accidentally pick something forbidden. There are tons of skills with dangerous or suspicious names.

I turn around and fiddle a bit with my skills. I put one point into [Space Magic] so my usage of "Items" is less suspicious. They apparently can't see the level of my skills, so this should be fine.

I pay the price, then the attendant gets a transparent crystal tablet and a needle from below the table. She pinches my finger with dexterity and lets a drop of blood fall on the tablet.

She picks it up, spends a moment to read it all, then turns to me and says, "I will register this at our books. Please wait here for a while." She leaves the booth and disappears deeper into the building.

I turn around just in time to see a fight break out. Two drunk-looking men start punching each other with unsteady postures. Two large attendants with clubs at their waists immediately jump in and forcefully break the fight. They hold the men in position while they scream abuse at each other, and after a minute or two they tire out, then the attendants drop them in place. They both fall down on the floor like boards and the hall resounds with laughter.

This is a very ruthless but surprisingly friendly atmosphere. Still, I don't really feel comfortable here.

Soon, the attendant comes back and gives me the tablet. It's a small rectangle that fits well in my hand, like a mini smartphone. I'll just put it in my chest pocket for now, then I'll store it in my "Items" later.

"How do I register at the dungeoneering guild?" I ask.

"Just show them your ID and they'll register your name for free."

I knit my eyebrows in confusion. "What, if it's free, then why do I also need to register there? Can't it be done automatically?"

She answers with a perfect business smile, "It depends on the town, not every hunter and dungeoneering guild is integrated."

I scratch my head in confusion. "Oh, well… Anyway, now I want to sell some monsters I killed."

Her smile becomes gentle and genuine. "Oh? You already killed something? Well then, please follow me to the disassembling room."

 _Ah, I made a mistake, I forgot my "Items" is a special thing. I know that [_ Item Box _] probably works similarly, but I have never actually seen it in use._

I need to make an excuse so that I can remove all my points and put them into space magic to see if I get an [ _Item Box_ ].

The attendant takes me into a room with multiple cushioned chairs along the walls and a closed door with a sign "In use" hung on it.

"There's someone disassembling a monster. Wait here, and when they're finished, you'll be called," the attendant says and leaves with a small wave.

I just got a life jacket. I sit and immediately put all my points into [Space Magic]. The first point gives me [ _Telekinesis_ ] spell, at 10 points I get [ _Gravity Crush_ ], and finally, at 20 points I get [ _Item Box_ ].

I cast it. A little mana goes away and it opens the exact same menu as "Items", but now there's nothing inside of it.

Well then, at least now I know the truth, so I put all my points back how they were.

After a good thirty minutes, the door opens and a big, bald, and burly man with bloody apron and gloves greets me with a smile.

"Good morning, young man. Are you here for dismantling?" He asks.

"Yes, I am."

"I'm Gordon, the chief butcher. We're ready now, so please come in, and sorry for the wait."

I nod silently and follow him to the next room. I enter a large, cooled room with a large number of metal tables, a few still bloodied. There's another person with bloody apron and gloves that's scrubbing the dirty tables.

"Now pull out on the table anything you want to sell," Gordon says.

I pull the monsters out of my "Items" one by one, and neither of the men comment anything. I notice that the monsters are still warm and bleeding, so this means that whatever is in the [ _Item Box_ ] or my "Items" gets frozen in time. When I pull out the bear, the two men freeze and let their mouths hang open.

The assistant stops scrubbing and mutters, "Wow."

"Yo, call Sonny. This one is valuable," Gordon says with a creepy smile on his face.

Gordon touches his hand with his finer and a large knife materializes on his palm with *poof*, then he ignores the other monsters and starts removing the pelt of the bear.

"You killed this one alone?" He asks while still working.

"No, I found him weakened. I think he was fighting the goblins that I killed."

His laugh echoes across the large room. "Hahaha, now that's a jackpot. You see, this one also has a bounty on him, so when we get Sonny here you'll get a bonus. Also, did you kill him by stabbing through the eye? That's some creative method you got there." He glances back and shows me a bloody smile as some of the bear's blood is smeared on his cheek.

_Do they have poker here?_

"Creative? How are you supposed to kill him normally?" I ask.

"Crushing the head. His skin is too hard to kill with an axe or spear, and magic ruins too much of the meat and the pelt. I see you used something like [Electric Magic], yeah? That's good to stun him, but it still damages the pelt a little."

The door suddenly opens and I see Sonny come into the room. He's a small man with yellow eyes, white hair, pasty white skin, and white spiral horns on his head. When he sees the bear, his eyes shine behind his oval glasses, his lips curl into a creepy smile, and he whispers, "Ooooh, excellent."

Thankfully, he ignores me and goes towards Gordon. He examines the butcher's work and starts talking to him, then the assistant comes back and helps Gordon.

After Gordon finishes the bear, now named Grey Berserker, Sonny says that the reward for killing him is two gold pieces while the body is worth another seven. If the hide was more well preserved it could be sold up to ten coins. Each goblin's body is worth forty copper. The "hedge-wolf", now named Mossy Fangpine, is worth one silver coin.

Since the money isn't excessive, they give it to me immediately, otherwise, it's necessary to wait for the money to be transferred to the guild.

Sonny turns to me and says with a subtle smirk, "So this is your first hunt, eh? Starting your tally with a surprise. But don't let other parties use you, now. They might be too easily impressed by a lucky kill on the Grey Berserker."

I awkwardly smile and respond, "Well I don't plan on bragging about it, so nobody will know."

He holds back a chuckle. "Oh, no. We publish hunt results, so people will know your name pretty soon."

I wince and look away. "Argh… Is that so?"

Even this I have to be careful about so that I don't stand out.

Gordon's laugh echoes again through the cold room and he asks, "Hehehe, you don't want fame? What kinda hunter are you?"

"It's kinda troublesome to be too famous too quick," I answer.

He points the bloody knife at me like a finger and nods. "Haha, the boy got a good head on his shoulders."

"Anyway, I will be waiting for your next surprise," Sonny says and he gives a small bow.

He seems to be a delicate man. He moves with measured movements that give him an air of dignity.

I say my goodbyes and leave. Now I need to go to the dungeoneering guild since they might have some interesting information about monsters and dungeons.

This guild also boasts an extravagant facade. Black bricks reflect little dots of light when the sun shines upon it, ceremonial blades slowly swing along the wall through magical means, and exposed clockworks show a very familiar clock above the double door. This clock is exactly the same as the ones on Earth, with twelve hours and sixty minutes. Maybe I can buy a pocket watch somewhere and cosplay as a steampunk Victorian British noble.

On each of the large double doors, there's an engraving of a gear and an upside-down bardiche. The symbol probably represents the cliche of a trap of swinging blades on a corridor being activated by a mechanism. The dress code for the uniforms of the attendants is exactly the same as the hunters guild except that the badge is different.

The door is on a corner of the building, so when I enter it I'm faced with a rather small hall with a few cushioned chairs and tables. The rest of the building is separated by a chest-high wall, and I see rows and rows of bookcases, tables, and chairs on the other side. There's also a considerable number of people studying there. It seems that I have to put a coin on a booth to enter the library area.

The small windows make the illumination seem moody, and couple that with the almost absence of any sound, and the atmosphere is one of calmness and seriousness. All in all, this place seems much more refined than the hunters' guild.

I approach a booth and ask to register. The attendant takes my tablet away and comes back a few minutes later.

"How do I enter the library?" I ask.

The attendant responds in a low and serious tone, "There's a toll of two copper coins, and you have to put a deposit of one gold coin. If you damage a book, then your deposit is forfeit."

"What kind of books are there here?"

"Strictly magic, traps, dungeons, monsters, and artifacts. Anything else you need to go to the temple or the university."

"Artifacts?"

"Rare magical items with dangerous uses."

_O~h… that sounds interesting._

"I also heard you sell supplies for expeditions," I continue questioning.

"The item shop is through that door." He points to the closed door.

_How's a room full of shops so silent even though it's right next to a library? I'm going to bet on magic._

I'm not interested in buying items right now, so I just leave. Next, I'm going to the temple.

The temple is in the middle of the town, so it takes quite a while to walk there.

It might be a few hours before noon, but the temporary food stalls are already opening around me, and soon, the smell of simple roasted or fried food fills my nose.

I'm actually kinda hungry, and I'm too curious to let this chance pass by, so I buy a cheap stick of goblin meat. It's quite a lot of meat for a single copper coin so it makes me a bit anxious to eat it. It's probably pretty bad-tasting meat that the poor eat.

I bite into it, and barely feel any taste, though I'm not really surprised that it's this bland. The only real flavor on it comes from the spices: a mix of garlic and oregano with salt. Still, I thought spices would be expensive for a middle-ages society, so to see it wasted on this meat stick gives me a little hope for the future.

I arrive at the temple. It's a gigantic half-sphere made of what seems to be white marble. Four thin towers rise out of the corners of the temple lot, and I can see a clock on each tower facing outwards. The temple itself is in the middle of a large square lot where the path created by the four entrances to the temple divides the unused land into four sectors.

Two sectors have buildings on them that look like living quarters. One of those buildings is full of children, so perhaps it's an orphanage and the other is the dormitory. The third sector is a grass garden with a dirt field, and the last is a small plantation. The temple itself doesn't seem to have any sort of decoration, giving an air of austerity.

I cross the stone path and enter the temple proper, then I see a huge hall. The entirety of the first floor seems to be a place for prayer. Along the outer wall, I see sixteen statues, each statue a different human-like bust depicted, and in the center of the hall, there's a single huge statue depicting a sphere, the biggest of them all. The prayer space is divided into two rings; on the outer ring there are benches spread all over that point towards the outer statues; on the inner ring, the benches are pointed towards the inner statue. Beside each entrance, there's a stair that runs along the circular wall in a clockwise manner and leads to the second floor.

All kinds of people can be seen praying in all kinds of manners to the statues. Some are on their knees, some have their hands up in the air, some are holding themselves, some are clasping their hands and have their eyes closed. I can even see a few people crying, and those are all accompanied by a person that I assume is a priest. They wear a loose white robe with a colored vertical line on the side of the arms and legs.

This scene stuns me for a few seconds. It seems that this is a polytheistic world, so it might be a good idea to learn about the gods and choose one to pray. Since "Piety" exists as a stat, might as well use it. I'm a pragmatic agnostic, so, if there's a benefit, then I might as well convert.

I look around and go for the closest priest that's not doing anything. A woman with tied black hair, tanned skin, and full lips. On Earth, she could be called a "Latina."

"Excuse me," I call her attention a little awkwardly.

She turns to me and smiles kindly. "Oh, hello," she greets back.

I lean on my awkwardness to make my words more believable. "I'm a traveler, and I just came to this town from a small village where I could barely learn about the world. Could you spare a moment and teach me about these statues?"

She spends a moment in silence looking at me with a mix of confusion and amusement. "Oho… an inquisitive person. It's good to be like that." She nods gently, then motions to the stairs. "Let's go to the second floor, there are plenty of rooms for private consultations. My name is Ciel, what's yours?" She asks with a smile.

"Wolf Ryder."

She nods respectfully. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ryder. Follow me, then."

_Mr. Ryder? Feels weird to hear that._

The second floor seems to have consultation rooms along the outer walls while administration rooms are in the center. Small holes in the ceiling and shining crystals on the walls light up this building. I look down a corridor that leads to the center of the floor and see a spiral stair that probably leads to the third floor.

She takes me to an empty room, and like everything on the inside of this temple, it's made of white marble slabs with black cement on the seams. There are a few simple cushioned chairs and a table. Ciel sits at the other side of the table, then motions for me to sit on a chair in front of her.

"Now then what would you like to know?" She asks.

I scratch my head in thought and answer, "Well… could you start from the beginning, like, the beginning of the world?"

She looks at me with eyes open in surprise, and I blush in embarrassment.

_Goddammit, she's looking at me like I'm a weirdo._

"I think what I know is full of holes, so let's start from the beginning. This way I won't miss anything important," I hurriedly add.

She chuckles then smiles at me. Honestly, her smile is quite charming. She looks at the ceiling in thought as she says, "Understood. Let's see… the Tale of Creation starts like this.

"The Overseer is the most powerful god that has ever been, but even with all his power, they desired 'something.' They, with their immortality, did not know what it was to live and die, they always existed. To observe how it would be to not be immortal, they created 'something,' and govern that 'something' while they observed, they created 2 gods: the God of Beginning, and the God of the End. And so, that 'something' would be born, live, and die.

"But that wasn't enough. 'It was a waste to let 'it' die and disappear,' the Overseer thought. So they created ten gods that would serve as a 'base.' That 'something' lived and died on one of the 'base' gods, then moved on to the next god, and so on and so forth. Thus, that 'something' wasn't wasted and lived in a cycle.

"But that wasn't enough. The cycle repeated and didn't change, so the same thing would always happen. To change that, the Overseer created the God of Change, whose purpose was to change that 'something' little by little, making it different every time, thus making sure that the cycle wasn't always the same thing. But that was dangerous as the God of Change didn't know restraint, so Change could break the cycle with the way they were acting. To prevent that, the Overseer created the God of Order, whose purpose was to restrain the God of Change and to prevent them from breaking the cycle.

"But that wasn't enough. The cycle was changing and its integrity was secured, but there was only one cycle, one 'something', and now even the God of Change wanted something 'new.' So the God of Change created a new subordinate god, the God of Creation, whose purpose was to create new cycles so that the amount of things the God of Change could act upon would increase. Since the new god was a subordinate, they didn't have the authority to interfere with the original cycle, so there was no risk of them breaking it.

"But that wasn't allowed. The God of Order was displeased with the new creations, so they copied the God of Change and created a new subordinate god, the God of Destruction, whose only purpose was to stop the God of Creation. And so, the four gods kept battling for an incalculable amount of time. From this battle, the 'base' gods were slowly transformed by the God of Change into the elements we have today, the elements of Light, Darkness, Earth, Water, Wind, Fire, Electricity, Nature, Space, and Spirit. During this battle, the Gods used these elements on each other as weapons, creating our land, our sea, our skies, our plants, our sun, and our night. The 'something' was slowly changed into 'power,' and eventually, it became what we call 'mana.' So, in essence, their battle created our world.

"But that wasn't enough. The God of Creation wanted to copy his superior god; they wanted to create something that would create things and change the flow of their battle. After much thought, Creation realized they couldn't create something powerful, since they were still a subordinate of Change. So instead, they created something intelligent and self-conscious, with the potential to go far beyond its original purpose. They created humans and the Genderless God of Existence to watch over us.

"But that wasn't allowed. The counter Creation, the God of Destruction created humanity's worst enemy, the monsters. They're specialized in killing humanoids, their only purpose being to grow stronger and kill. In response to the monsters, the God of Creation changed humans into different forms to act against the monsters. They created the other races of humanoids: the halflings, elves, dwarves, gnomes, pixies, beastfolk, wereanimals, merfolk, dragonkin, chimeras, and finally, the demon race.

"But that wasn't enough. The people they created were smart, but they couldn't grow fast enough to counter the monsters. During this period, all intelligent life almost died out. This was called the Age of Oppression. So to save the humanoids, God of Creation gave us the power of improving our soul by killing monsters and absorbing the fragments of their souls. With those pieces, we could eventually grow a bigger soul, and with a bigger soul, we could grow more and faster. The amount of extra pieces on our soul is called a 'level.'

"But that wasn't allowed. The God of Destruction then cursed the land, they made it so that the free mana in the environment would be used to create monsters. With this, any sort of abandoned land would greatly increase the amount of monsters, which then could lead to the monsters flooding the civilized world.

"Seeing the power of the 'levels,' the God of Creation gave us a way to share knowledge, a way to quickly grow our greatest gift, our intelligence. They created the 'skills,' a way to quickly learn what others had already learned if we trained our bodies in similar ways. This was the decisive move that allowed us to push the monsters back and kill Ender, our Nemesis. With that, the land was safe, and the Age of Glory started."

_Share the knowledge? Then the skills aren't decided by the gods, but instead by society? I see. This way, skills can be modified and new ones added, otherwise, the progress of society would be almost entirely dependent on the Gods._

"But that wasn't allowed. The God of Destruction took his time, but he managed to create something that would rival the power of civilization: the immortal Monster King, a copy of a humanoid that has intelligence, the capacity of growth, and the power to command monsters at will. With this, civilization was pushed back again, and the battle with the Monster King continues to this day. Currently, the battle could be said to be in a stalemate; we keep the monsters in check, while the Monster King pushes us back whenever we get some ground."

_In the stories I've read, this type of villain would be called Demon King, but since there's already a demon race I guess it would cause confusion to call him that._

"The creation of the Monster King started Age of Discord, where the races fought each other all over the realm as they couldn't agree on a way to unite and fight the Monster King. Then, came the first emperor of Avgi, Ajax Doxa, who united our continent, Gilios. After his death, he Ascended and became the first Humanoid God, the God of The Sun. Thus, he started the Age of the Sun.

"As a response to the creation of the Monster King, the God of Creation enabled the birth of dungeons, sky fortresses, and monster ships. When the mana got too thick at a certain area, a mana storm would be born, but its destructive power did nothing but help the God of Destruction. Thus, to control that, the God of Creation blessed the land so that whenever a mana storm would occur, a dungeon would be created to absorb its power. If it happened below ground, it would be called a dungeon, if in the sky, it would be called a sky fortress, and if below the sea, it's called a monster ship."

I suppress a smile.

_And finally, the most standard element of any fantasy story, the dungeon, has finally shown its face coupled with the reason it exists._

"These dungeons are manifestations of our culture coupled with the power of the nearby monsters. This would contain the power of the storm with the drawback of creating powerful monsters, but considering how dungeons are limited spaces, they in turn turned into perfect training grounds for civilization. With the creation of the monster hunter guild and the dungeoneering guild, we can manage the monsters and the dungeons so that we can acquire power and items in ways we never could before."

"After that, the God of Creation left this realm to create other realms and cycles. There are many realms along with ours in this cycle, though we don't know their names. We do know that the name of our realm is Rupega, and the name of our cycle is Reigurando."

"Wait, what? Can you explain a bit more what realms and cycles are?" I interject.

"Well… see it this way: a different realm is a place where laws of the world are different than ours. Perhaps it's a land where you don't have a ground to fall to, perhaps it's a land where you fall up instead of down, perhaps it's a land where monsters and people changed places. Do you understand this?"

_So in essence, it's a different "reality."_

I nod and answer, "Yeah, I think so. And what about cycles?"

"Cycles are the path of mana. When things are destroyed, like our spirit, the earth, the flame of a spell, or anything else, the mana doesn't 'dissipate' like some would believe. It simply leaves our realm and is changed into something else on that new realm, this is what a cycle is."

I grab my chin in thought and question, "You say there are different cycles, but how do we know this?" -An idea enters my mind and it makes me quite excited- "How do we know there are other realms? Can we see other realms? Can we move between them?"

She smiles and lifts her hand, gesturing for me to slow down a bit. "Woah, calm down, that's coming on the next part of the tale."

I lean back on my chair and smile embarrassedly. "Ah, oh… sorry. Please continue."

"After the God of Creation left, certain humanoids started to acquire immense power. They were called heroes during their lives, but their time on the realm eventually ended, like all things should. The God of Creation took notice of such souls passing through the cycle, and they didn't want to waste such valuable souls that achieved so much. To solve this, they turned those souls into subordinate gods, and thus, the Humanoid Gods started to Ascended. We know of sixteen Humanoid Gods so far.

"These gods give us blessings and messages to us when necessary, and this is how we know about the other realms. They can see beyond our realm and told us about it, but even they can't move between realms.

"We think there are other cycles because it fits the teachings of the God of Creation to always grow and expand. Also, the humanoid gods tell us the God of Creation is not currently in any realm of this cycle. Which fortunately means that the God of Destruction is also not here, bringing stability to our realm.

"That's the total of the Tale of Creation," she finishes with a smile, then she pours water into a cup and drinks.

I blink blankly as my brain returns from "story mode" and say, "Wow, that's a lot of information. Is this written in a book? Do you have other books with tales about this world that I could read?"

She looks at me curiously. "You know how to read? Well, we do have books, but they require special permission. Though if you join the temple you can read them at any time."

"What do you mean by joining the temple?"

"Working as a priest. There's always the need for more people helping in the orphanage, or cooking the meals, or spreading the word in the streets."

That doesn't sound like easy work, or work that pays a lot. I need to acquire money for research and to get some power so that I can live an easier life. I don't think I will get either by working here.

I frown and respond, "Hmmm… I don't think I want to become a priest. Is there any other library that I can access?"

"If you help the temple, maybe you can catch the attention of the chief priest, and he's the only one capable of giving special permission, but our books are rather limited. Besides that, you can try the library at the magic university. It has a much wider variety than ours, but it costs a lot just to enter, and the books available to non-members are also limited…" She tilts her head and plays with her hair adorably. "Are you perhaps a scholar? By your clothes, you look just like another commoner or starting adventurer, but you are way too smart to be either. You can read and your curiosity is impressive."

_Well, I guess this was unavoidable. I needed information, and there was no other way besides stumbling in the dark. Time to lie a little._

I give her a gentle smile as I lie, "Well, I'm from a very far away land, and I had to give up a lot just to come here, but I'm no scholar, I'm just a naturally curious person."

Half-truths. It may sound mysterious, but I don't have the knowledge required to craft a well-built lie where I give information such as birth-place, family names, and etc.

"Hm? Haha…" She tilts her head and laughs awkwardly. "Well, I'm sorry for trying to pry into your business, but I can say one thing for certain, you are an interesting person."

It seems she understood I don't want to talk about my origins in detail. A person who hides his past is suspicious and untrustworthy, but I think I acquired enough goodwill that she can just let this pass.

This talk gave me some comfort, so perhaps I can keep coming here and asking more questions. It seems the God of Creation encourages the sharing of knowledge, so I can ask questions more freely than I had imagined.

Right now, I've heard enough, so I want to go back to the dungeoneering guild and look for info about the monsters around here. I've decided I'll carefully hunt as a primary way of making money until I'm more accustomed with crafting and the laws. I'm not a fighter, but I also know very little about trade and economy, so I'll need a lot more knowledge to get into that area, and fighting seems easier in comparison due to the skill system.

"Well then, I think I heard enough for now," I say and nod respectfully. "Thank you for your time. I really enjoyed this talk, can I come back another day and ask for more?"

She nods emphatically and answers, "It's part of our job to inform those who listen, so I would enjoy talking to you again. If I'm not at the temple, just ask for any other priest that's on standby."

"Well, if it's not too much, can I continue talking to you, specifically?"

I'd rather not talk to different people, and she looks much better than the wrinkly old priests I saw around.

She twitches in surprise, then smiles gently as she says, "O-okay, that's not a problem. During the morning, I either work at the clinic or the orphanage, and I help prepare lunch and dinner most days. Every two days, I rest during the afternoon, so I'm not at the temple every day."

"Alright, then. I don't know when I'm coming back, but it's going to be soon. Until then."

"Goodbye, Mr. Ryder," she says and smiles brightly.

"Goodbye, Miss Ciel," I awkwardly respond with a nod.

Since it's almost noon, I look for some cheap food. It seems it's the bean season, so most stalls are selling a variety of bean dishes.

I enter a restaurant and eat a green bean soup that reminds me of green peas. All they have here is goblin meat, though. Previously, I felt that my inn was expensive, but after tasting this meat, I feel like that the price is justified.

I'll postpone going to the university for a while until I have a better grasp of magic and the life around here, so now I'll go to the dungeoneering guild to gain more knowledge of the area.

I still feel it's dangerous to say I'm from another world, so I'll avoid places where they might ask my background. If I said that I'm from another world, I'd certainly cause a lot of ruckus, and in no novel that would end well.

As I'm walking back to the dungeoneering guild, I have some time to reflect on what I learned. Ciel said that the Humanoid Gods give blessings and messages, so there's really no question about the presence of gods here, therefore, being an atheist is just idiotic. Some "God" sent me here, but simply reneging all Gods would be an infantile decision, especially because I'm dealing with fucking _Gods_. It's just not something to take lightly.

I saw that there are sixteen gods, so maybe I should learn more about them and start praying to one. Since they also communicate, and they were once people of this world, then perhaps they're reasonable. It also gives me a little comfort in knowing there's a being that could help me if I show a little faith.

I notice something change in me. I open my stats and see that my "Piety" has increased by 1 (it's now 3).

_It seems that the peepers in the sky can even read my mind._

I enter the dungeoneering guild and ask for the section with information on monsters and dungeons around this area. The attendant guides me to the second floor and shows me a section with dozens of cloned books. This seems to be a common inquiry around here, so the guild prepared a large number of copies of the books: "Monsters of Rabanara," "Dungeons of Rabanara," and "Advice for New Explorers". The creativity in naming is heartwarming.

After taking a look at them, I learned that I'm one lucky motherfucker. The Grey Berserker is the most powerful type of monster in the region. There's always a large bounty on them because they're smart enough to avoid the culling, so they're always a danger in the forest. The advised strategy to defeat it is a group of at least three fully armored people and one healer. The aim is to use blunt weapons to break the bear's bones since they're much more fragile than the hide, which makes most cutting or piercing weapons useless.

Goblins are like in any other game. They grow like weeds and require constant care so they don't choke your plants, which means your life. They give little rewards, but bringing a whole corpse could net some considerable amount of money. The problem is, most people don't have enough carrying capacity to bring a lot of corpses into town. Goblin meat is tasteless and sinewy, but it's the base meat for the poor so they always sell. Most hunters don't bother with the corpses and only bring a proof of extermination, which is the right ear.

Mossy Fangpine is another dangerous enemy. There's a chance the mossy spines will poison the person; another evidence I'm actually lucky. They hunt in packs of three or more, and the one I fought was alone only because of the culling. The strategy is to hide behind a shield and wear at least leather armor, then counter stab it in the face after it jumps to bite, or just use magic since they are vulnerable to it. Arrows are okay to use, but they are fast and the spines can deflect arrows if you are unlucky. They have an extraordinary sensing capability, and they'll likely appear whenever a monster is killed because of the blood.

Another enemy is the Rabid Rabbit. This one, like the Fangpine, only charges and bites. The bunny acts alone and is extremely vicious. The bites are poisonous and can make a person go berserk. The meat tastes good, and the saliva glands are used in potions, so this monster is always hunted, making it hard to find.

In the sky, there's the Dragolite, a small dragon that doesn't have a fire breath. Their meat is somewhat hard to cook and has a strong taste, but it's still valuable. The farmers hate them since they like to kidnap the sheep around here. They don't kidnap the children but just try to kill them, so the children of the farms around here are trained in archery the moment they can hold a small bow.

The last part shocks me a little. This is really a brutal world. Also, this is the enemy that captured my summoned bird.

There's also the Giant Dragonfly. It uses its legs as spears and attacks with high speed. The easiest strategy is to just use a spear longer than their legs. They're weak but annoying to deal with because they are agile, and it's difficult to dodge or escape them, so it's advised for hunters to always carry a simple long spear in their [ _Item Box_ ]. Due to their nature, they appear mostly along rivers or lakes, and they don't fly too well among the trees, so that's why I haven't met one yet. Their wings and eyes are valuable crafting items, so they sell quite well.

The occasional migrating flock of wyverns is a threat. Wyverns have wings on their arms while dragons have wings on their backs, separate from their arms. Also, Wyverns look more like velociraptors with wings, while dragons are lizards with wings. Wyverns attacks are the most common threat to this settlement, so sooner or later I'll be called to defend the town against them. They only fly as a way of long-distance movement since their huge bodies and low magical capability makes flying awkward for them. Unlike dragons, who can manipulate the wind with ease, wyverns tire easily if they have to be agile during flight, so fighting against them is always done on the ground. The best strategy against them is to fight behind shield walls using pikes and ranged attacks. Finding and destroying wyvern nests is heavily rewarded since this means that the attacks on the town reduce in frequency.

These are the common monsters that are born here. The thing is that migrating monsters are extremely common, so the chance of meeting a random monster is quite high, which means that you really need to read a lot about monsters to be prepared for anything. This discourages me a little about hunting monsters in the forest for money. I also have little experience in tracking, so I think that looking at the nearby dungeons might be a better choice for now.

Dungeons have a lot of variety. There are some that are maze-like, whose floors can be many times larger than entire towns. Others are just large underground environments where monsters roam around copied fragments of the world above. Some even have artificial lights, allowing them to sustain some form of plant-life. Plenty are mere dimensional doors to some unknown space, possibly full of traps, randomness, and constant change. The most popular among hunters are the small labyrinths, especially the ones that create a floor exclusively for a single party, which guarantees that no other party will influence your progress, but unfortunately they're much rarer. Most dungeons have some sort of "elevator," which allows adventurers to move to any floor they've previously explored.

Dungeons increase in depth the more they're allowed to remain undisturbed. Damaging the core forces the dungeon to reduce in depth to repair itself, while destroying the core makes it fall apart. The nobility is the one responsible for culling the forests and managing the dungeon depth. In the book, it is implied that a noble that doesn't fight doesn't deserve their title. It sounds quite interesting, so I need to ask more about this later.

It's quite tiring and time-consuming to keep reading all this information, so I don't really have time to go out of town today. I decided to go to a nearby dungeon tomorrow, Royd's Kerfuffle. The adventurer that discovers a dungeon gets the right to name it, so quite a lot have some ridiculous names.

This dungeon in particular isn't that popular since the monsters there do not reward much, but it could be a perfect training ground for me. It's a labyrinthine dimensional door dungeon that has an "elevator." At the lower levels, I just need to look out for traps. The worst of them teleport their victims to a random place on the same floor, so things only start to become difficult after the tenth floor, but the floor traps are always at the same place, so it's easy to avoid them.

Right now I still have some free time until sunset, so I decide to go look for the hunters training grounds.

The training grounds is a large dirt field. There's a large area for sparring, an archery range, a wide, long, and secluded place where I can see some mages throwing some flashy spells, a place where a few freakish pieces of armor float and fight some people, a small building with barred windows, and a small fountain for people to drink.

_Is that fountain magical or is there plumbing in this town?_

I pay the toll to enter and approach one of the idle men with the symbol of the hunters guild engraved on his leather armor.

"H-hello, I'm new around here. Could you tell me how I can use this place?" I ask the man.

He's not big or burly, but he has a menacing gaze. He sports a buzz cut, his skin and face are full of small scars, and his posture is intimidating.

_How does one get scars on a world with magical healing?_

He says in an eerily calm voice, "Hm? Well, the archery range is free, and we can lend you a bow and arrow, but you'll pay for anything you break. The magic range is free, too, but you have to work with the manager so you don't hurt other people. The Living Armors are rented, and the manager also deals with that. I'm an instructor, and I can give you training with weapons, but you can't monopolize me, so we have the students spar with each other once you're at a proper level." His gaze is unwavering, it makes me want to spontaneously look away, but I resist it for now.

"Then, could you teach me the sword?" I ask.

He nods energetically. "Alright, let's spar so I can measure your skill. Put away your sword and I'll give you a wooden one."

He goes into what I assume is the warehouse while I put my sword in my "Items," then he comes back with two wooden swords and throws one at me.

"What's your name?" He asks.

"Wolf Ryder."

Now that I've said it again, I think that I've made a mistake, this name certainly doesn't suit me. My parents were right, my original name was better.

"I'm Toga. You make the first move, and I will start attacking after a while."

So I start my session. I rush and attack, but I have no idea what I'm doing. Because the skill system takes over some of my movements I'm at least confident that I've shown I know how to slash and thrust.

Toga effortlessly blocks, parries, and dodges my attacks. It feels like I'm a child throwing a tantrum while he holds me back by simply holding my head. Then he starts attacking and in three strikes my sword falls out of my hand.

"Well your technique is a mess, who taught you the sword?" He asks while frowning.

"Self-taught," I answer meekly.

"Mystery solved," he responds and laughs out loud. "You know how to attack, but you're lacking a 'flow,' so it's easy to find openings to counterattack. The first thing you should learn is how to defend yourself. Now, do you want to train the proper way, or the easy way?"

I get a chill when I hear that. I know what's coming. It's going to be painful, but this is an opportunity to see what true sword fighting is like, and what kind of man or boy would say no to that?

"The... proper way," I answer.

He grins evilly and says, "Then defend yourself like your life depends on it, because it does." 

He beat me up.

My body is bruised and bloody. I didn't imagine that a blunt wooden sword could make such a cut. Toga crushed me and he's barely out of breath. He's certainly a scary man. Did I choose the worst instructor by any chance?

While I'm sprawled on the ground, Toga calls someone. Another instructor comes by and touches my arm, then he starts singing something like a prayer, and my body stops hurting little by little. I see the bruises return to normal color, and the cuts stop bleeding then close up, all in just a few seconds. This must be healing magic, and it's much faster than my [ _Regeneration_ ] spell.

Oh wait, was that a chant? Do people normally need to sing something so that the spell activates? I don't know anything about that, but it's a common trope in video games to balance magic, and they make it that powerful magic takes a long time to chant.

I get up and notice there's a small amount of people watching me, and quite a few of them are grinning. Embarrassment fills my heart and makes me blush.

_What's so funny?_

"Good job surviving, boy," says one of the grinning men.

I try to stop my smile. They're making fun of me for getting beaten up, but I just can't deny it must've been a spectacle.

Toga stops in front of me, and I notice a hint of kindness in his tone as he says, "Your body is weak and your technique is poor, but you got enough 'Willpower.' Keep coming and you'll be a proper swordsman in due time."

I'd noticed people greet each other with a clear nod, so I mimic that and say, "Thank you for the session, teacher. I'm way very tired now, so I'm going to retire."

I'm not sure what's the etiquette when dealing with the instructors here, so I just call him "teacher" instead of saying his name.

"Goodbye," he calmly says and nods.

I turn around and wash my face in the fountain, then I leave. Now I'm just gonna pass by the hunters guild for a quick look.

Near the entrance, I notice something I'd ignored the first time I came here due to nervousness. On a wall, there are two large black boards where I can see something written in white. "Notable Hunts" is written on top of the first one, and below it, there's a magically scrolling list of hunter names with monster names next to them. I get a chill when I see my name with "Gray Berserker" right next to it. The second board says "Confirmed Kills'' on top. It scrolls much faster and has a list of the hunter names coupled with the number of monsters killed. It seems that the second one is about the number of proofs of extermination you sell to the guild.

I walk towards the notice board and see that most of the notes there are about the prices for the bounties or corpses of the common kills around here, like the goblins, Dragolites, or monsters from the dungeons. The rest are bounties on specific monsters sighted. Some contain a rough drawing, but they all contain the name, the last seen location, a short description of the monster, and a threat level.

From what I understood by reading monster books, the threat level goes from 0 to 10, the numbers have the following meaning: 0 = harmless, 1 = capable of killing a child, 2 = capable of killing an untrained adult, 3 = capable of killing the common soldier, 4 = capable of killing a soldier squad, 5 = capable of killing a knight squad, 6 = capable of killing veteran hunters, 7 = capable of killing a soldiers company (100 men), 8 = capable of killing a division (10,000 men), 9 = capable of destroying a fortress, 10 = unkillable.

_Why are knights ranked lower than veteran hunters? Is it a matter of specialization? I see that there's a permanent bounty on the Grey Berserker, and his threat level is four. Dragolites are threat level one and Mossy Fangpines are threat level two._

When I decide to leave, I notice that there are a few people looking at me. I recognize that at least two people were here in the morning when I sold the bear. Do these people do nothing besides sit here and drink?

It's probably what Sonny said: other parties will be interested in me since I killed a Grey Berserker all by myself. It doesn't matter that it was half-dead, they don't know that. 

I decide to leave quickly and go back to the inn for rest.

Dinner is a red bean paste with minced meat and spices to put on the bread. Feels like it's spiced with paprika and cumin, so now it only needs some spicy pepper for it to be just like chilli.

After dinner and a bath, I go back to my room and reflect upon today. I look at my skills and see that they all have a "plus" sign on their level. [Sword Use], [Dodge], [Parry], and [Block] all have a 1 on the right side of the plus. These are new skills that I gained after I trained. Does this mean that trained skills are different from the ones assigned with the system?

I try to remove [Parry], but it doesn't allow me, so I guess this means that I can't learn [Parry], then remove the skill, then learn it again, and repeat as a way to accumulate skill points. No exploits in this game eh? Mine not included.

This is how my skills are right now:

Wolf Ryder Skill Report  
  
---  
  
Physical  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Sword Use | 5+1 | Dodge | 3+1 | Parry | 0+1  
Block | 0+1  
  
Magical  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Mana Efficiency | 3+0 | Mana Recovery | 1+0 | Electric Magic | 4+0  
Nature Magic | 5+0  
  
Miscellaneous  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Andraste Language | 10+0  
  
After that, I almost doze off thinking about the Tale of Creation. The name "Reigurando" reminds me of something familiar. Then something hits me. The Japanese language lacks some things required for them to pronounce foreign words properly, and the way around it creates an accent that some even find funny. After a while, you start to notice the patterns in their speech and easily manage to understand what foreign word they're trying to say.

The Japanese way of pronouncing the English word "Playground" is "Pureigurando". RPG, Role-Playing-Game, is pronounced "Arupegi," which is incredibly similar to Rupegia. I'm truly stuck into a fantasy video game, and it's made by the Japanese. And finally, "Demon King'' is also a common trope on Japanese stories.

I'm really an "isekai" protagonist...


	3. Royd’s Kerfuffle

_I'm not really shocked, you know? My "Sanity" didn't go down so I guess this is proof I'm adapting to the situation. It also didn't go up, so I guess this is my limit. I'm just fated to remain half-sane in this shitty world._

_Being introduced to magic and monsters so abruptly certainly shocked me and didn't help with my mental state. Though the biggest shock I had so far was the message from God. It was incredibly cryptic and suspicious, but there's nothing I can do about it besides dealing with it and moving on._

_Oh wait, it's morning already? Did I sleep? I don't remember sleeping, so maybe I just fainted and then suddenly woke up._

My thoughts are drifting endlessly, preventing me from reflecting upon anything important. I simply can't focus because my mind is swimming with the possibilities.

_It's like I'm living inside an isekai novel. There are so many tropes being thrown at me that I can just predict what's going to ha-…_

I hear a knock on the door, then a female voice says, "Breakfast is ready!"

_That must be the innkeeper's daughter. She's a really cute girl with blonde hair in a ponytail and a very feminine small face. She seems to be very bubbly and kind, and she looks like she's my age, by that I mean this-world-age, not original-world-age. She has a brother, and they kinda look like twins. I've caught a few patrons and even myself staring at her absentmindedly. She's just a bright spirit. But did she notice us? She always comes to us with a warm smile, ma-…_

_No, wait, I can't run from this, I need to finish that train of thought. I can predict some developments about my reason for being here and what could happen next. Ciel said that the God of Creation is not in this cycle, so the God of Destruction must've followed him, and because of that, this realm is more or less stable. This means that if in the future The God of Creation comes back, or if something calls his or the God of Destruction's attention, then shit will hit the fan._

_So, I think I need to prepare and get stronger while not messing with the balance of this world. But am I really supposed to be a "hero"? The message that God sent me is suspicious, why not tell the reason I'm sent here? Why apologize? Did something go wrong? Was I not supposed to come here? I guess that doesn't really matter in the end. In the isekai stories, a "hero" is sent for whatever bullshit reason just to create a story. It's used as an impetus to return to the previous world or save the current world, but in the end, the "why" doesn't matter, what matters is what I do next._

_There are too many possibilities and zero answers or evidence. The best I can do is simply prepare while trying to keep the balance of the world. There's a possibility that I might have to fight the Monster King, so information on him is essential._

_The possibility of a realm transfer is another thing I need more information on. Maybe my original world is part of this cycle, so it might be best for me to raise my "Piety" and communicate with a humanoid god._

_Lastly, there's a possibility that this is all just an ultra-realistic VR game. If I die, will I return to Earth? Well… there's just no way to test that, so I think I should ignore this line of thinking._

_Now, let's get back to the present. Training at the hunter's guild is going to take a long time to yield results, so I want to enter Royd's Kerfuffle to gain a few levels. Those skill points can turn me into a master swordsman whenever I want, so I need levels more than anything right now. But before I leave town, I'm going to buy some equipment and supplies, then take a look at the dungeoneering guild for tools._

Today breakfast is a simple vegetable soup with a small piece of mutton and some sweet bread. Honestly, it's kinda nice.

After eating, I go to the Crafter's Corner. Walking around town is rather tiring. I wasn't sedentary before, but I'm not used to this amount of exercise. Yesterday I fought until I collapsed, so my muscles are still a little bit sore. Maybe I should rest, but I can't stay still due to my anxiety. I need a stable source of income before I can relax properly.

I see a few pieces of Gray Berserker leather armor on the market. They're, unsurprisingly, gray, and they're three gold pieces each. It seems expensive, but considering how that bear is known for being tough, I decide to part with my money. I get a jacket and pants.

There are more expensive pieces, like Hell Wyvern, Kite Dragon, troll, ogre, and Dragon Lord, but I feel like this one should do for a small dungeon. I let the merchant appraise my armor and he tells me that it's made from Hobgoblin. It's a good low-budget armor, but it doesn't last long, so an adventurer shouldn't bet their life on it.

After observing the merchant, I switch my skills to Armor and [Weapon Appraisal]. There are two forms of appraisal, [ _Appraise_ ] or [ _Appraisal Eyes_ ]. The former is the more common method, but it's flashy and I don't want people to know I'm using it. The latter shows me the information of the equipment on a black screen after I stare at it for a few seconds, though it continuously consumes mana, so I can only use it for a very short time.

With 10 points in Appraisal, it seems that it only shows me the "Material" and "Quality" info of the equipment. There are still a few instances of "???" on each equipment.

I choose a "high" quality steel one-handed sword with the same design as my current one, which is made of iron. I also choose a "high" quality small round shield made of iron, it's painted entirely in black color. I'll use this shield by holding a handle instead of strapping it to my arm so that I have more flexibility with it. Finally, I pick a pair of Hobgoblin leather mittens, a Hobgoblin cap, the cheapest bow, a quiver, and twenty arrows.

Even if I don't know how to use a bow yet, I can put some points in archery once I level up. All of this costs me three gold. I see much more "fashionable" versions of the same equipment I'm buying, but they cost _a lot_ more, of course.

I notice that good padding is quite expensive, and most of it comes from monster fur. It seems like cotton is comparatively weak in comparison to the more durable stuff. I don't have much money left, so I'll have to go with cheap padding for now. Hopefully, it won't hurt much.

Then I go look for supplies like blankets, cloth, cutlery, plates, bowls, rope, lantern, food that's easy to eat, spare clothes, whetstone, and finally, oil for equipment maintenance. There is straw pail for use as toilet paper, but it seems like even children are trained to learn [Conjuring Magic] and [Light Magic] level 1. With that, they can use the [ _Conjure Water_ ] and [ _Clean_ ] spells to clean themselves after heeding the call of nature. I guess this is what the entrance guard meant when he said I had no "life skills."

I also buy a few of the lowest-grade health, mana, and antidote potions. They aren't for use during combat since they only act after five minutes and work up to thirty minutes. I notice that the HP and MP potions have a small shine to them, so I guess that the standard way of knowing if something is magical or not in this world is to see if it shines.

Then I go to the dungeoneering guild for tools for the expedition. All adventurers need items that keep them safe from monsters while they sleep, eat, or answer the call of nature, especially if they're alone. The most common item is scented candles to keep monsters away, but there's the danger of the wind snuffing them while someone sleeps, which would make them vulnerable to being attacked while sleeping, so at least a [ _Monster Repellent_ ] magic tool is necessary. This magic tool is a crystal that uses mana to reproduce the effect of a scented candle, so there's no risk of it being snuffed out, but the downside is that it's more expensive and requires mana to recharge. To use it I need to put 1 point into [Mana Control], then I can turn it on or off, or recharge it.

Another important tool is the Escape Bomb. It's a more concentrated version of the scented candle and it's used to run away from monsters. The seller tells me it stinks horribly, so I should throw it on the monster or the ground and not on myself if I don't want to pass out from the smell.

Then there are the [ _Proximity Warning_ ] crystals. Thieves occasionally prey on adventurers, so monsters aren't the only danger in a dungeon. If I'm going to sleep inside the dungeon alone, then I need something to warn me if something or someone is getting close.

And finally, I buy the map of the ten first floors of Royd's Kerfuffle. I don't plan on going to the eleventh floor anytime soon.

The stone and crystals were expensive, five gold total, but it's something I'll never have to buy again.

A huge hole opened in my funds, and more than half of my gold coins are gone. I still have the rose coin, but I have no idea what is the exchange rate to gold coins. I'm also afraid to exchange it because I still haven't seen anyone use it, so I might get scammed. Perhaps another day I should go to the merchant guilds or bankers and see if there's a place for money exchange.

The dungeoneering books mentioned that Space magicians normally ferry people between the dungeons entrances and the town. I noticed a few huts spread around town with "[ _Gate_ ] services" written above the entrance, so I guess that's where I can get a teleport. But teleportation gets more expensive depending on the contents of your [ _Item Box_ ], so I don't wanna expose that I have nothing in my [ _Item Box_ ] to random people. It's suspicious to walk around without an [ _Item Box_ ] because this spell seems to be another thing that everyone learns when they're a child so that they can at least carry coins in it.

I don't think everybody has level 20 [Space Magic], so it must be possible to learn spells before you have the required level. Must be why the [ _Item Box_ ] starts small and why magicians are normally the ones that carry the most supplies. Even if the magician isn't an offensive one, the dungeoneering book always recommends having one just for the [ _Item Box_ ]. They're basically pack mules.

I don't wanna hire a magician yet, so I'll go to the dungeon on foot with the crude map that I got from the dungeoneering guild. It shows me that the Sea of Trees is to the south of the town, the farms are to the north, and to the northwest is the entrance to the dungeon. It takes one hour on foot, so I'm going to arrive there around two hours before noon.

I put all my points in [Space Magic] so that I can use [ _Item Box_ ], then I put my silver and copper coins, and some things like the sleeping bag and some food into it.

I walk to the west gate, the same one that I came in from, then I start customs. I show my ID and the guard at the gate uses a crystal ball to read the contents of my [ _Item Box_ ].

I take a look at his crystal table and see that they at least can't see the number of coins that I have. Looks like it's an anti-smuggling measure. Since trade goods are taxed, they don't let people just put anything they want in their [ _Item Box_ ] and then travel to wherever.

I don't have to pay for anything because of my adventurer ID. I walk out of town and see a line of multiple wagons with groups of between in between, all waiting to enter the town. Most of the groups seem to be composed of adventurers. It seems like this is quite a busy town.

After I'm a little ways away, I put everything back into my "Items" and spec my skills for fast movement and stamina. I have 31 points, so I put them like this:

Wolf Ryder Skill Report  
  
---  
  
Physical  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Sword Use | 5+1 | Dodge | 0+1 | Parry | 2+1  
Block | 0+1 | Sense Presence | 3+0 | Enhanced Stamina | 5+0  
  
Magical  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Electric Magic | 1+0 | Nature Magic | 5+0 | Blessing Magic | 10+0  
  
Miscellaneous  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Andraste Language | 10+0 |  |  |  |   
  
With 10 points in [Blessing Magic], I can use [ _Swift Foot_ ] on myself, and with [Enhanced Stamina], I can walk much faster without tiring.

I enjoy the sights as I follow the cobbled road west. To my right, there are the farms, and to my left, there's the Sea of Trees.

I recognize that most plantations are of beans. The plants are short sprouts, and if you look carefully, you can see the bean pods. Further away I can see water wheels, so there's a river that runs close to the town. I can't see any sheep, so maybe they're deeper in because this area could be in danger being so close to the Sea of Trees. Very, very far away beyond the plantations, I see the snowy peaks of a mountain range. I know that before them there's a valley with quite a few dungeons, so one day I might go there.

On the side of the Sea of Trees, the trees are so tall that I can't even see what's beyond. The area around the town is a plateau surrounded by mountains, but nobody fully mapped the Sea of Trees, so it's unknown what's beyond there.

Soon, the road turns north, which means I'm close to the dungeon.

Far ahead, a small forest starts to peek above the farms, the sign that I'm close to the dungeon. The trees surrounding the dungeon grow fast, so the area is never completely deforested.

As I approach, I see that a small wall surrounds this forest, and a single squad of guards protects the entrance to the small grove in the rare chance a monster comes out of this dungeon.  
When I get close, they just nod at me, uninterested in the common adventurer passing by.

Then I finally reach the entrance to Royd's Kerfuffle. It's an ominous black vertical rectangle that glows slightly, a dimensional door. I change my skills towards combat and make them as follow:

Wolf Ryder Skill Report  
  
---  
  
Physical  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Sword Use | 5+1 | Dodge | 3+1 | Parry | 3+1  
Block  | 3+1 | Sense Presence | 5+0 |  |   
  
Magical  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Mana Efficiency | 4+0 | Mana Recovery | 4+0 | Electric Magic | 1+0  
Nature Magic | 5+0 |  |  |  |   
  
Miscellaneous  
  
This way, my main attack is the sword, [ _Lightning Bolt_ ] is a backup, [ _Entangling Vines_ ] is for utility, and [ _Regeneration_ ] for healing.

With that, there's only one choice here, I step inside the black door.

I enter an eerie dark room. I can see myself, but I can't see anything else, and there isn't even an exit behind me. As if I opened my "Menu," a small black window appears in front of me. It has only two lines written on it: "1st floor" and "Exit." I choose "1st floor."

A familiar feeling strikes me. Like when I first got transported to this world, the ground vanishes under my feet, then I feel like I'm free-falling, but this time I remain conscious. After a second, the ground reappears under me, then the darkness around me is lifted slowly.

I'm in an empty room with gray square tiles and black seams as the only decoration. There's only one exit out of this room, and behind me, the same ominous black door is present. Every few tiles, there's a small gem that glows faintly, illuminating the dungeon. There are areas and even entire levels without light higher up, so it's another reason to keep on the low levels for now.

There are three types of enemies found here. The first are the goblins, which carry a variety of conjured weapons. These weapons disappear when the caster dies, and most equipment is like that inside dungeons. The goblins are so weak that even a greenhorn like me can take them down in a duel.

The second enemy is the Mandrake, a small walking root that looks like a baby. It'll scream while attacking to disturb the enemy, but it's a very weak monster. Its feet are used for potions or cooking, but the rest of the body isn't valuable. Though, the more mature ones have leaves growing out of their heads that have some value for potions.

The third enemy is the Bush Baby. It's not the animal Bush Baby, but an actual baby-looking monster that has a bush on its head. It's a relative to the Mandrake that doesn't scream. It attacks with piercing vines, and there's a chance to be poisoned by them if the wound is deep enough. It's even less valuable than the Mandrake, but it's more dangerous.

These are the enemies on the first ten floors. They're horrible for making money, but I'm here only to acquire Experience and levels.

_It's time to start exploring._

After locating myself on the map, I start walking around the labyrinth while keeping a close watch to it. It'd be very embarrassing to get myself lost in the first dungeon that I've entered. I also don't want to stumble upon one of the stairs to the next level, so I keep near the border of the maze. The size of this floor is actually surprising, it's about half the size of Rabanara.

The mazes in this dungeon are made of multiple corridors and small rooms, with most of them leading to dead ends with a monster waiting, but there's still plenty of paths that I can take to navigate the floor. Occasionally, there's a monster roaming the paths, but they generally don't enter a path that leads to a dead-end, so the dead ends are the most common safe spot for resting after killing the monster waiting there.

I detect a goblin with [Sense Presence]. There's no way for me to sneak behind it in these tight corridors, so I decide to face it from the front.

I hear its first footsteps, then it comes around the corner and I wrinkle my nose in disgust. The first thing I notice is that it's naked, and it's a male. He's a green ugly thing around one meter tall wielding a crude spear. He doesn't have any clothes or armor, so his genital is exposed, free to dangle about. I feel sick just looking at him.

Once he notices me, he immediately charges with his spear, but he shows no emotion.

There's no room for hesitation, I have to fight him, to _kill_ him. My sword is shorter than his spear, so I decide to fight cautiously.

He seemingly doesn't know how to use his weapon as he thrusts and keeps moving closer to me, getting into range of my sword. I deflect with my shield, then I counter and the blade sinks into his chest with little resistance.

He drops his spear and tries to grab my sword. I kick him with the sole of my boot and send him backward towards the floor.

He falls on his back and immediately tries to grab his spear again, but it's too late. I chop downwards and my sword gets stuck midway through his skull.

He immediately goes limp, and the red dot in my [Sense Presence] fades away. It's dead.

I use my foot to dislodge my sword and brain matter drips out of the wound.

_Fucking hell._

Now there's blood on my boots, but I'll just have to deal with it for now.

_That was easy. This sword cuts cleaner than the previous one, so it's like a hot knife through butter. I'm also not so afraid of taking a hit after Toga taught me how to defend myself. The wonders of healing magic may be affecting how I think about wounds, though._

I'm feeling kind of hot with the leather mittens, cap, and pants, but considering how safe I feel, I can't complain.

I cut the ear as proof of extermination and wipe my blade on a piece of cloth. The reward is only five copper if there's no corpse, but I can't really appear with dozens of goblin corpses in my [ _Item Box_ ]. Appearing with the Gray Berserker might have been a mistake in the first place, and I won't repeat that again so soon. Though, I think that Sonny and Gordon were so happy with the Berserker that they've ignored my strangeness.

In a few minutes, the dungeon will completely reabsorb the goblin corpse, so just leave it behind and move forward.

Another naked goblin appears, this one wielding a dagger. I kill it before it reaches me with a single chop to the head and move on. A second appears soon after, and this time it's a female with small breasts. She also wields a dagger, so I dispatch her with ease.

The gore coupled with the free nudity is making me feel sick.

The fourth goblin appears. It has a spear and a loincloth.

_Finally, some decency. But does this mean that he's more experienced?_

He charges at me and his spear slides off my shield. I try to counter, but he keeps his distance this time.

_Question answered, he really is smarter._

It takes a few hits, but I manage to deflect his spear with my shield in a way that he opens up his guard, so I lunge forward and slash his face.

He falls and tries to bring his spear back, but I put my foot on his arm, then I pierce his heart. With his free hand, he grabs the blade of my sword and his face distorts in pain.

"Grah…" He lets a small moan and dies.

_That was odd, the first three didn't show any emotion, but this one did._

I'm getting creeped out by the flashbacks of the goblin drowning in his own blood.

I cut the goblin's ear and quickly move on.

Soon after, I meet another naked goblin, this one with a sword. I try something out and let him hit my shield with, then I riposte and kill him.

The hits don't hurt, but they tire me out. The spear doesn't have much weight behind it, but the sword does. If I want to last in this dungeon, I can't let myself get tired after every fight. Just because I can block, doesn't mean that I know the _best_ way to block.

I wander about without meeting anything for a while, then I finally encounter a Mandrake. It's am ugly thing about half a meter tall, just like the books said.

Immediately after seeing it, I get dizzy and almost fall as my ears get attacked by an extremely high pitched buzzing.

_This is fucking terrible I don't want to meet this little shit ever again._

The monster immediately charges, and I can see it pointing its two spear-like arms towards me.

I barely regain my footing in time to desperately slash at it before it collides with me. I feel the sword sliding along its chest, but it doesn't sink as deep as before. Its skin is much tougher than a goblin's.

With the slash, I send it back to the ground, then a greenish, transparent fluid starts pouring out of its chest wound.

The little fucker is tenacious, it immediately gets up again and points its arms towards me. In my rage, I do a savage chop, and my sword gets embedded into its head, then it goes limp.

"You are now level 6," says the familiar female announcer.

_Haha, what the fuck. I have an ugly baby head in my hand, dripping with green blood._

A sigh escapes my lips.

_Fuck this world._

I suck it up and cut off its two ugly distorted yellow feet because they're valuable as ingredients. I open my skill window and I put the 4 points into [Mental Resistance]. This way, the next Mandrake will be more bearable.

I could put those points into [Sword Use], but the benefits seem to be decreasing drastically. Just knowing "how" to swing a sword won't help me if I can't physically swing it the way I want. I have to raise my "Stats" some more, I think.

I continue forward and meet another goblin with a dagger. This time, I try my [ _Lightning Bolt_ ] on it, and it takes four hits before it dies.

_Took too long and used too much mana. I need to put more points into magic before I can use it as a main source of damage._

It has been a few hours, so I'm starting to become hungry. I sit down and pull out some meat and vegetable sticks to eat.

Afterward, I heed nature's call. The dungeon absorbs anything you leave around, so it's going to be okay. It's really embarrassing to be so vulnerable in the open like this, but with [Sense Presence], I know when someone is coming.

I temporarily put a point into [Conjuring Magic] and [Light Magic], then I use them to clean myself. It takes one-fourth of my mana, so the mana cost is kinda high.

After moving a good distance away, I decide to sit down and wait for a little until my mana is back to full.

While resting, another goblin appears. This one has a loincloth and a sword.

He screams while charging, but his skill can't compare to mine, and I easily decapitate him. I wasn't fully rested, so I change resting places again.

I notice that the enemies are giving less experience than before. I guess I'll have to go to the next floor once I level up.

The next monster is Bush Baby appears. Its vines are long, about three times the length of a spear, so the strategy is to cut the vines multiple times until I can approach it safely. If I rush it, the vines will bend and pierce me from the back.

This monster is quite annoying to deal with. The attacks are fast and start to tire me out. My [Block] isn't good enough, so my body starts hurting from the exertion. It's taking me too long to cut the vines, so I cast [ _Lightning Bolt_ ] three times, and on the third, it gets stunned.

_An opportunity!_

I jump forward and cut off the first vine, but the second barely escapes. Now I just have to deal with one vine until its body is in range of my sword.

The vine slams against my shield once and I slash the air, then it slams a second time and I miss again. On the third slam, I get the timing right and cut it off. Now I can reach it with my sword.

I dash towards it, then I slash its head and a long cut appears. It loses its balance, and that's enough of an opening for me, so I chop, and my sword gets stuck midway into its head.

It's a bit of a shame that the leaves got damaged, but I have no time to care for it. I cut off its head and apply [ _Regeneration_ ] to myself, easing the pain from the tiredness.

I look at my stats and see that the monster did one point of damage to my health. That's rather surprising since it didn't even draw blood.

After a minute, the pain stops and I move on. I go towards the stairs to the next floor because the monsters around it are stronger.

Two Mandrakes appear side-by-side.

_Fuck._

I think I got a little too confident. Even with [Mental Resistance] I'm just barely able to remain standing up. This is a problematic situation.

I instinctively cast [ _Lightning Bolt_ ], and it hits one of the monsters, slowing down its charge. The other jumps and aims for my heart with its pointy arms.

Good thing that they're dumb. I just slash at the first one, then the second comes right behind, and it slams against my shield. Its attack packs more punch than the Bush Baby, so I grit my teeth and hold my ground.

The first one falls back due to the push from the slash, and the second one falls on my feet. Feeling the danger, I kick the second one and it flies away a few meters. The little shit is tough as fuck, so the kick hurts my toes.

The first one gets up and jumps again, then I bash its head with my shield. It falls backward on the ground, then I pierce its face with my sword. It wriggles for a few seconds then stops moving.

I look forward and the other Mandrake is mid-jump, so all I can do is block with my shield. The impact makes me step backward, and I lose the grip of my sword that's still stuck on the body of the Mandrake.

_This is bad._

I kick the Mandrake again and feel an immense pain on my toes. This time it doesn't fly far.

I cast [ _Lightning Bolt_ ] twice, and on the second time, it gets stunned. That's enough of an opening for me to get my sword back.

It stops convulsing for a moment, then it starts to move again, but it's too slow. I chop down with all my strength before it can react, and my sword sinks into its skull until it touches the nose.

I dislodge my sword and sit on the ground while trying to avoid looking at all the gore. My head is spinning and my arm is tired from the impact, so I cast [ _Regeneration_ ] again.

That was brutal. My heart is racing and fear courses through every inch of my body.

Mandrakes are a weak enemy, but two at the same time is no joke. I need to go back near the entrance and keep killing goblins. If it wasn't for my [Mental Resistance], I think I'd be dead by now.

I harvest the enemies and notice something change within me. I open my "Skills" and see that I got [Dismantling] level 1.

_That was easy, shouldn't I need to practice more? Or was it because I had already acquired some knowledge through books? Eh, whatever…_

I hurry back to the entrance and keep killing goblins. After the sixth one I hear, "You are now level 7."

I put all my points into [Sword Use] (now 9+1), then I decide to take a break and rest.

A few minutes later, I get three large hits on my [Sense Presence], but these aren't monsters. Soon enough, I start to hear footsteps, then I see three adventurers coming towards me from down the corridor. I quickly put points in [Andraste Language].

"Oh? Greetings," the man in the front says. He seems young, perhaps slightly older than me. He has neatly combed brown short hair, giving him a refined air. He carries a shiny short sword, a pristine large kite shield, and he's wearing some really-well made black leather armor with thick padding. He seems wealthy.

Beside him, there's a rough-looking man wearing chainmail and a bastard sword. He looks a few years older than us. I see short light brown hair peeking from below his chain coif.

Behind them, there's a woman in a dark blue robe wielding a simple wooden staff with a blue gem at the tip. She's a fully grown woman with straight brown hair that reaches her shoulders. She has a cute and calm face with a button nose and a small chin.

"Hello," I answer. I get up and do a full nod.

"You're here for training?" The young man asks.

"Yes, I'm practicing my sword," I respond calmly.

He smiles gently. "Well then, be careful when you meet more than one monster. It's easier to just run away because it's really hard to fight while alone. Be well." He waves and moves on.

"T-thank you. Goodbye," I answer meekly, then I roll my eyes at my own awkwardness.

_What an odd exchange, but I also wish had I met him about an hour ago._

_Are they planning on staying here for the night? It's going be dusk soon, so starting to explore now is a waste._

I shrug and continue hunting goblins.

I meet another Mandrake, and it's alone this time. [Mental Resistance] helps a lot when it's just one. I'm no longer dizzy, but my ears still hurt a lot.

It seems that the extra points in [Sword Use] make it much easier to slit its throat in a single slice. This takes some aim, but at least this way it's much harder to get my sword stuck on its body like what happened last time.

Then I meet another Bush Baby. This time I make steady progress and shave away its vines until I can bury my sword in its head. It's still tiring, but at least I don't need to use magic.

This is considerable progress for just a day. It's very motivating, but I feel like this isn't how things are supposed to be done.

I kill two goblins and rest again.

The Experience is very low now. I need to kill forty goblins just to level up. My best chance to level up is to find Mandrakes or Bush Babies. But it's already late, and I'm way too tired to continue hunting.

I go back towards the dimensional door, then I exit the dungeon, and I'm teleported right beside the entrance. I see that it's already night, so at least my sense of time wasn't completely screwed by staying so long inside the dungeon.

The squad of guards has changed. There are five of them and they mostly stay inside their small hut while a single one stays outside, near the entrance to the dungeon.

I give him a nod, then go towards the grove to find a secluded corner. I find a pair of adventurers making a tent in a small clearing, then I move away from them and set up my camp.

I pull out of my "Items" a ready-made meal. Near the Crafter's Corner there are plenty of stalls that sell small boxes with food that's easy to eat, so I bought a few. This one has a loaf of bread with bean paste inside, a handful of a vegetable that reminds me of broccoli, and a few pieces of fried Rabid Rabbit meat. I feel a little uncomfortable with eating anything with "Rabid" on the name, but it actually tastes good. It's slightly _marbled,_ which makes me surprised that it's so cheap.

I brush my teeth, I put a lot of points into Conjuring so that I can fill a bucket of water to wash, turn on my [ _Monster Repellent_ ] crystal, position my [ _Proximity Warning_ ] crystals around me, bring out my sleeping bag, and finally, I try to sleep. Let's put emphasis on try, because this bag is really uncomfortable. I should've bought a tent and a better sleeping bag.

The dungeoneering guide says to sleep with your armor on, or at least have leather armor if you can't sleep in your plate or chain. So I guess this can't be helped, adventurers are just fated to sleep badly.

I stare up at the sky, but I only see clouds, not even a single star. Eventually, my tiredness overwhelms my anxiety and I fall asleep.

I dream again of the goblin drowning in its own blood.

The sun wakes me, and I feel that my body is sore and stiff. This was a terrible night.

_Fuck, is this going to become a trauma? I'm already uncomfortable sleeping in the open like this, I don't need recurring nightmares screwing with me._

I break fast with a goblin meat stick. It's very salty and dry, but I only have water to drink. I need to buy some fruit juice when I go back to town.

_I miss coffee, I miss chocolate milk, I miss tea, I miss soft drinks (diet only)._

I look into my stats and notice that my "Magic Power" and MP have risen by five. It seems that using spells slowly builds up your mana and power. Unfortunately, no other stat has risen, so I guess I need to nearly kill myself every day to raise my "Strength" or "Endurance."

I stretch a little; recover my crystals; store my tent; and turn off my repellent stone; then I get ready to go back inside the dungeon.

I decide to get closer to the stairs again. Mandrakes or Bush Babies are too rare, and it's taking too long to level up, so I'm getting greedy.

I meet two Mandrakes in sequence and easily dispatch them. I'm really getting used to handling their shrieking. My strategy to deal with more than one is also ready, but I'm a little dubious about how to deal with two Bush Babies.

My theory-crafting is cut because I detect a goblin coming towards me. I meet it head-on and see that it's wearing a full set of padded leather armor: jacket, pants, mittens, boots, and a cap. It wields a small round metal shield and a shortsword.

_I need to aim for the neck or face, trying to cut through that armor just won't be possible._

"GYEEEH!" The goblin screams and charges forward.

I deflect the first blow and attack with my sword, but it dodges backward and evades. I try to follow up with an upwards slash, but it blocks my attack with the edge of his shield.

It tries to slash sideways towards my face, but I evade by jerking my body backward. The goblin is short, so his sword barely reaches me, but still, it was dangerously close.

The goblin overcommits and swings wide, creating an opening for me. I bash its shield and it loses its balance, then I follow up and thrust at its neck.

It jerks its body and avoids a fatal wound, but I still manage to inflict a nasty cut on its neck, and blood starts pouring profusely over its shoulder.

It jumps backward and tries to regain its balance, but I cast [ _Lightning Bolt_ ] and immediately slash towards its face. The bolt hits and its entire body twitches. The goblin didn't get stunned, but its reaction is dulled enough that my slash cuts at its cheek deeply.

"GAAAAH!" The goblin screams and loses its balance again.

This time, its guard is fully open, so I lunge and jam my sword into its eye socket. It groans as its body twitches, then goes limp and dies.

"You are now level 8."

_Now, what do I need, exactly?_

I clean my sword and sit down to think.

_Perhaps more [Mental Resistance]? The two Mandrakes were rough to deal with, but maybe there's another way to deal with them that doesn't involve Resistance. Mandrakes are vulnerable to fire, so maybe one point in Fire and then the rest in [Mental Resistance]? Also, [Blessing Magic] level 1 sounds good. I'm not using a lot of spells, so maybe I could spare some MP for a self-buff._

_Hm… Blessing will be left for later. I'll put one point in [Fire Magic], and the other three in [Mental Resistance] (now 7). The biggest threat to me right now is reduced mental capacity during a fight with a Mandrake leading me to make a bad decision. There's also what the wealthy adventurer said, I can just run if I meet two dangerous enemies, but I have to be capable of making a correct decision. In the lower levels, monsters don't generally work together, so it was a coincidence that they were walking together._

_With that done, now I need a target to test my [_ Fireball _]._

The first guinea pig to volunteer is a naked goblin with a dagger. I cast [ _Fireball_ ] and I hit it right on the face, then he falls backward and screams in pain.

_Weren't the naked ones supposed to be emotionless? I need to revise this theory._

Ah, exposed flesh is more vulnerable to fire than lighting, so [Fire Magic] is more useful here than lightning. If the stunning effect of [ _Fireball_ ] on the Mandrakes and Bush Babies is stronger or equal to [ _Lightning Bolt_ ], then I will take the point in [Electric Magic] and put it in [Blessing Magic].

I thought that fire damage only did more damage to enemies in comparison to [Electric Magic], but I ignored the physical aspect of burning something alive. I didn't think about it because the book spent more time talking about harvesting and the fact that the monsters are vulnerable to [Fire Magic] was only mentioned in passing. Perhaps it's because it's an easy enemy. Magic seems pretty powerful here, so I find it difficult to believe mages would spend their precious mana killing such small fry when the front line could effortlessly hack their way through.

I think this sort of information would likely be found in magic books, but I didn't look too deep into the ones at the guild because they were a bit too esoteric. I need to go to the university's library for that.

I keep grinding monsters, and after half a dozen goblins, I finally find a Mandrake. Its scream was really painful before, but now it's completely bearable. I think now I'm ready to fight two Mandrakes without much risk.

I immediately cast [ _Fireball_ ] at the monster.

The ball hits its face and the screaming reduces in intensity. It's super effective! The Mandrake slows down and almost stops. It pats its head with its pointy hands in a desperate attempt to stop the small fire that the spell created.

A perfect opportunity. I charge and easily decapitate it.

Also testing this spell on a Bush Baby might be prudent, but I'm feeling confident it's going to be even more effective. The Bush Baby leaves seemed very dry, so I believe them to be a weak point against [Fire Magic].

I remove [Electric Magic], put a point into [Blessing Magic], and cast [ _Wind Armor_ ] on myself. The magic creates a ball of light on my palm, then I touch myself, and the spell is cast on me. This magic creates a sort of wind-based "kinetic shield" that protects my entire body, slowing down physical attacks by using air resistance. Every few seconds, I can see small distortions around my body, and also a slight breeze whenever that happens.

Unfortunately, the spell has a huge cost, and half of my MP is gone. Coupled with the two [ _Fireballs_ ] I used, I barely have any mana left, so spend some time resting.

I notice that meditating really does increase the rate that my mana recovers, but I need to make sure that I don't fall asleep since I have to keep my eyes closed.

I get up and move forward. I think I'm ready for the next level, so I move steadily towards the closest stairs and kill a few goblins on the way.

The stairs are just a simple downward set of steps that end in the same ominous black rectangle like the one of the entrance and exit. I cross it, and the same floor select menu appears, but now it has a "2nd floor" option, so I press it and I'm teleported to the new floor.

It looks exactly the same as the previous one: drab and boring. The goblins aren't naked anymore, but the Mandrakes and Bush Babies are still the same.

After a few kills, I see that even the Mandrakes and the Bush Babies are giving little experience. So it seems that the enemies ramp up in power little by little.

I'm thinking that now that I have [Fire Magic] I'll be okay on the third floor.

After a few more kills, I find another armored goblin. I think it's a male, the females seem to have a slightly smoother skin and fewer wrinkles.

He's wearing the same leather armor as the one from before, but the shield is bigger and he's taller, so now he's just a little bit shorter than me. I'm 165cm, by the way.

I'll have to be more careful with this one since it looks like he has much more skill and intelligence than the others. Just to confirm my theory, he smiles before he charges towards me.

We trade even blows, but his attacks are heavier than the Bush Baby vines, so I have to focus on deflecting more to tire me less. This leaves me with little openings to strike back, so I start to get pushed back.

_I have to do something._

I notice his attacks follow an obvious timing, so I prepare myself, then I bash his shield right before he winds up his slash. He wasn't expecting me to counter with such power, so I manage to break his posture. I bash again, putting all my body into it, and he loses his balance, then falls on his ass.

I strike his shield repeatedly while he desperately tries to crawl away backward. His sword hand is busy supporting his body while he defends himself with his shield, so he can't get up, and his smile turns into an angry frown.

I step on his sword hand, making him drop it, then I drop my shield, grab his, and open his guard. He tries to wrench free, but I have the physical and mechanical advantage, so I stab him in the face until he dies.

This one tired me out, so I need time to catch my breath and apply [ _Regeneration_ ] to my arms.

Curiously, his shield doesn't disappear like the rest of his equipment did. I put some points into Appraisal, and it tells me it's a medium-sized iron shield. It has no painting or decorations on it, and it's of "medium" quality. Average at everything, but I guess it might be worthy of something, so I put it into my "Items."

_I have to kill at least another ten of these goblins to level up. My Experience gain seems to be dropping really fast, or is it actually my growth that is too fast? Perhaps killing the same monster has diminishing returns, rewarding me less Experience each time I kill them._

I eat my lunch away from the goblin corpse, then I move on and reach the entrance to the third floor. I'm getting a little nervous, but I decide it's worth the risk.

On this new floor, the first mature Mandrake. It has valuable green leaves on its head, and it's nearly a meter tall. The pain from the scream is slightly stronger, but only slightly, so it's still bearable. It's a good thing that their power seems to increase slowly, or else I'd have to put all my points into [Mental Resistance].

It charges forward like the other Mandrakes, but it's faster than the younger ones. I steel myself, grit my teeth, and ready my shield. Like I had predicted, it jumps towards my chest with its pointy arms aiming towards me. Once it's in the air, I wait for the perfect moment to bash it with my shield.

*Dooon!* I hear the loud sound of metal resonating even while under the effects of the Mandrake's scream, but it's intensity slowly fades away. My hand hurts from the sudden strike, but this was an effective attack. The Mandrake flies far away and one of its arms breaks.

Considering how the scream stopped, I guess I succeeded in stunning it. I give chase and slash at the downed Mandrake. Its head falls out and a fluid greener than the one from the younger Mandrakes spews out.

I look at my shield and notice that the tip of one of the Mandrake's pointy arms stuck is stuck in it.

_Holy shit, I guess I need a better shield now._

There's also a small dent in it from the other arm. That bash sure packed a good punch, but I don't think it's the best choice. If they charge and jump, the best options still seems to be to just slash.

Maybe a spear is the most effective tool here against these charging enemies, but if you meet more than one, you need a backup weapon in case it gets stuck in an enemy. Thinking about this, I pull out a dagger I got from a goblin, then I hang it on my belt behind my back. Even with a sword, it's useful to have a backup weapon.

I feel something changed within me, so I open my status screen. I've gained the skill [Shield Bash] with 1 point.

_Hm, shield bashes seem effective at stunning enemies, so I guess this is another skill that's important to have._

I move on and notice that the goblins are stronger and require more effort on this level. They all graduated from loincloths and are now using basic woolen clothes. A few even have one or two pieces of leather armor.

_So, the ones fully armored are rare occurrences? The dungeoneering book didn't tell me much about these abnormalities, and the only thing I remember is that monsters can go up a level of the dungeon in rare instances. Maybe they're from a lower level, then? "Lower" as in a level deeper "down" that has stronger monsters. The fact that the stairs go "down," but the floor select screen goes "up" is a bit confusing._

_The mature Mandrake is still rare, and the Bush Babies didn't increase in power, so my experience gain isn't increasing, making me rather frustrated. The speed of my progress is dropping sharply._

_It's annoying not having an idea about what's the proper rate of progress in this world. There's a skill called [Increased Growth], and another called [Inspire Growth], but I don't have the skill points to spare. Perhaps they help with level gain? Though the name is ambiguous._

_I don't really have the time and the points to test those skills, so I just ignore them._

_I can't remove my mana enhancements because I'm starting to use [_ Fireball _] more often to make fighting less tiring. I can't remove my physical combat skills, otherwise, I feel like I'll lose the skill advantage against the goblins._

_Is it my best choice to find a partner? I've only sensed pairs of adventurers coming here, and no solo explorers like me. The problem is that I can't really trust just about anybody to pair up. I think that my adaptability and rapid growth will be extremely suspicious._

My body gets increasingly tired, and I decide it's time to leave the dungeon. My legs are aching, my arms are hurting, and I feel like my body is swaying. I've been fighting all day, after all, and at the rate that I'm gaining experience, tomorrow before noon I might get another level.

When I get out, I see the sun and understand that there are still a few hours until dusk.

Now, what do I do while I wait? I don't really want to talk to the guards, and adventurers normally don't interact with others.

I should've bought a book. There's no internet or computers here, so my two main sources of entertainment are gone. Can I maintain my sanity without my games? This might be the true trial of the hero in this world.

I pass the time by maintaining my weapon, and exploring the other magic skills, making a note of every spell and their effects. "Notes" is a rather terrible interface to use, so I think I'll keep most of my notes on actual paper.

Most magic skills only show me spells up to 15 points, but after that, I can only see "???". The only level 20 spells I can see are [ _Item Box_ ] from [Space Magic] and [ _Purify Body_ ] from [Light Magic], so I guess I'm missing something. Is it mana pool? Is it the "Intelligence" or "Wisdom" stats?

Dusk comes, and I suddenly feel a small breeze on my whole body. I look at my "Status Effects" and see that the entry "Wind Armor" has disappeared, so my [ _Wind Armor_ ] has run out.

I decide that I'll put four points into [Blessing Magic] the next time I level so that I can get the [ _Sharp Blades_ ] spell. It might help me with cutting the armor of the goblins or ensuring a one-hit kill on the Mandrakes and Bush Babies. There are no other immediately useful spells, and I'm scared to put points into certain dangerous sounding magic schools like, [Cursing Magic], so I'll make it do with only those I know are safe.

Night falls and I look up, but I only see a cloudy sky again. I can't even see the moon.

_Wait, is there even a moon here? I think there are stars, but I didn't pay attention to the moon._

I turn off my lights, but it takes a few hours of restless tossing and turning until I finally start to feel sleepy. The uncomfortable sleeping bag makes it harder to sleep, but I'm going back to town tomorrow, so I'll just deal with it again today.

This night I don't see the Gargling Goblin again, but I have a very unpleasant dream. I only remember the disturbing sensation of slicing flesh with my sword.

I wake up feeling stiff, but at least I don't wake up as tired as yesterday. I get up, stretch, eat breakfast, recover my things, brush my teeth, and put on some anti-scent powder. This powder is essential to prevent the Mossy Fangpine from tracking someone's scent, so my first meeting with it was just inevitable. Curiously, there's a magical anti-scent powder that has a faint perfume, but of course, I wouldn't waste money with that, I can still endure the smell of leather.

I wash my dirty clothes with magic, but I don't think that this was a good idea. With the [Mana Control] skill, I can hold a [ _Fireball_ ] in my hand and slightly change its size, so I use it for fast drying, but it seems like that this has damaged the fabric.

After that, I return to the dungeon at the same time as another adventuring duo. They kind of look like a couple, and I start to feel very uncomfortable.

_I feel so lonely… I don't even want to think about how are things back on Earth. I just… don't want to think about it._

Whenever I think about Earth, I start to feel depressed and I lose my motivation, so I think that it's best to bury those thoughts until I can deal with them better.

I slap my cheeks and enter the ominous black rectangle, then I choose "3rd Floor." I appear in the same drab room as before, but I'm completely alone. Fortunately, it seems that the couple didn't go to the same floor as me.

Progress is smooth, but slow since I don't encounter any armored goblins or mature Mandrakes for bursts of Experience.

"You are now level 9," the announcer finally says after half of my morning is gone.

I put my new four skill points all in [Blessing Magic] (now 5) and cast [ _Sharp Blades_ ]. Like [ _Wind Armor_ ], a glowing ball appears on my palm, so I push it into my sword. The blade subtly changes and looks like it's been polished. At least it doesn't shine ridiculously.

I touch the edge with my finger and feel that it's dangerously sharp. It's impressive, really.

I take a short rest because the spell used half MP, then I move on again and butcher my way through the monsters.

It makes me happy how easy it is to decapitate the monsters, now. I can basically kill anything with one good hit. I even manage to cut a goblin in half at the waist!

Ok, the sight of his guts spilling on the floor is gruesome and traumatizing, and now there's just blood everywhere, but holy shit, I cut a goblin in half.

_Fuck, am I enjoying this? I either have a mental problem or a natural talent, depends on which world you are from._

Unfortunately, the experience gain continues to drop. It becomes a waste to fight monsters on this level, so I decide to go to the fourth floor.

The mature Mandrakes are much more common now, though not all of them have leaves that can be harvested, which is a shame since it's their most valuable part. Unfortunately, the goblins and Bush Babies didn't get stronger, so I decide to keep going down levels until at least the goblins improve… or is it "up" a level…?

After lunch, I get to the fifth floor, but it isn't much better. The Bush Babies are now 1-meter tall and hit harder, but my strategy is polished, and I cut their vines easily.

I decide to risk it and go to the sixth floor.

Finally, the goblins are now giving good experience. Since they're still the most common enemy by far, they need to give considerable experience, or else it's a waste of my time. Now most of them are wearing at least two pieces of armor.

_It seems that monsters increase their power in a very predictable pattern._

The rate of experience gain is steady, but I'm getting tired much more often now, so I have to take multiple breaks.

While I'm waiting at a dead end, I get three familiar hits on my [Sense Presence]. I immediately remove [Mental Resistance] and trade it for [Andraste Language]. I need to research the difference between each level of the language proficiency, I always go for 10 but 7 will have to do this time.

The three adventurers enter my room and notice me.

"Hoho, greetings again. You progressed a lot haven't you?" The wealthy adventurer casually asks.

His party is the same, but I can see dirt, blood, and tired eyes on him and the other two members. Though the woman is the only one without a drop of blood on her clothes.

I respond with a faint smile, "Yeah, I got the hang of dealing with these monsters. They're quite dumb and weak, so I had to come to this floor for a challenge."

He nods and smiles back. "Indeed, my teacher instructed me to come to this level because anything below is just too weak. We went much deeper into the dungeon, but after this level, the goblins get stronger much faster, so we came back here for an easier time." He puts a hand over his chest and says, "I'm called Nour, what's your name?"

"Wolf Ryder."

He nods and respectfully and asks, "Then, Mr. Ryder, would you mind if we take a rest with you? Is this area safe?"

_Again with the "Mister." Also, he didn't say his last name, so was it a blunder to say mine? Do normal people not have a second name?_

I get a little nervous, but I decide to be friendly and respond, "Y-yeah, no problem. I killed the monster at the dead-end."

The three of them sit down near the wall, Nour sits by a wall facing me while the woman and the other man sits at the corner, then they pull out canteens and start to drink.

"This woman is my sister, Rania. The man is my slave guard, Liam."

"Hello," Rania says in a monotone.

"Greetings, Grand Ryder," the man says with a nod.

_"Grand" Ryder? That feels even weirder, but I assume this is how a slave respectfully addresses others._

The words that I hear are foreign, but because of the language skill, everything is being translated to its closest meaning in English. The words they speak also sound slightly garbled, so I need to focus to understand what they're saying. This must be the effect of not having 10 points in the language.

I wave my hand to them and smile.

"You know [Blessing Magic]? I didn't see you using [ _Wind Armor_ ] the first time we met."

_Oh shit. Quick, time to lie._

"I didn't want to… train with enhancements on. I thought it'd be best to train my sword without using magic first, and then use it when I'm comfortable I'm skilled enough."

"Bahahah! That's the same advice teacher gave!" Nour roars.

"Told ya it's good advice," Rania says while smiling wryly.

"Agreed, master. The path to glory is a long journey," says Liam in a serious tone.

_He sounds like a sage._

Nour raises his hands and lowers his head in defeat and says, "Alright, alright. I'm not going to rush out into a dungeon or anything like that. I learned my lesson…" He lifts his head and crosses his arms. "But anyway… exploring dungeons alone is uncommon, why don't you partner with somebody? [Blessing Magic] is valuable in a team."

"Don't pry into the business of others," Rania warns.

He flinches and smiles wryly. "Geh... I'm sorry. Mr. Ryder just piqued my interest."

Rania turns to me and smiles wryly. "Forgive my brother, Mr. Ryder. He's far too curious and carefree."

"That's not a problem… " I answer and awkwardly rub my neck. "I don't mind answering. I'm traveling alone because I'm new around here, and I… pick my partners carefully."

"Rania, I think he's teacher's son," Nour says and chuckles softly.

"That just means that teacher's mentality leads to a longer life," she replies flatly.

There's nothing I can do but smile at this exchange. Nour might be a little nosy for me, but it's hard to be mad at him because he seems good-natured.

"Well, okay… but Mr. Ryder, have you thought about buying a slave as a companion? Blood Slaves can be more loyal than even sworn knights."

"Blood Slave?" I blurt a question.

_Is this related to [Blood Magic]? I remember that there was some forbidden magic like that._

Nour raises a curious eyebrow at me, so I try to salvage my question, "I mean, how can a Blood Slave be that loyal?"

He smiles subtly at my awkwardness and responds, "Well, you can use [Slavery Magic] to make sure that they always obey, but that doesn't inspire loyalty. The important thing is that the Gods watch over the Blood Slaves, so you can be certain that they're always the best servants. Just like my companion, Liam."

_So it's not [Blood Magic]? Then why call it "Blood Slave"?_

"Hmmm… can you ex-…"

My question gets cut short. I get two hits on my [Sense Presence], one small and one huge, both monsters.

_Just what the hell is this._

I instinctively get up and draw my sword. "Monsters are coming," I say.

All three of them look confused, but they stand up and draw their weapons. Liam looks at me suspiciously.

"I didn't hear anything," he says.

_Oh no... This enemy is dangerous, extremely dangerous._

The monsters suddenly start sprinting. They've detected us. We start to hear a jingling in the distance.

Liam turns his head towards the noise and questions in confusion, "Chain mail?"

"Run!" I exclaim and dart towards the corridor. It dawns on them what's coming and they immediately follow me.

I run as fast as I can, but it's too late. When we get near the entrance to the corridor, the monsters are already at the doorway, trapping us inside. We stop and our blood runs cold as we see the two figures coming to kill us. These monsters are the reason I don't want to go to the eleventh floor: the Orc Headhunter and the Swamp Goblin.

There's a trap on the eleventh floor, a roaming duo of monsters much more powerful than the ones normally found in the area. They hunt weaker adventurers and prey on them, so this is why nobody spends any time on that floor. The worst thing is that the Escape Bomb doesn't work on the orc, its endurance is too high. The duo is a terrifying combo.

The Swamp Goblin is a brown, filthy goblin that wears simple rags. It uses a blowgun that shoots poisoned darts that weaken the physical capabilities of adventurers. It's physically weak, so it's the priority target.

The orc is a green ugly monstrosity around two-meters tall. It has a pig snout, large eyes, and huge tusks coming out of his mouth; its strength is superhuman; it wields claymore that he uses with a single hand, and a large kite shield; and it wears a hauberk with a metal cuirass, vambraces, schynbalds, and cuisses. I'll be lucky if I survive a single strike from it.

"MASTER! RUN!" Liam screams while he charges the orc.

That was the wrong move. Nour and I have shields, so we can defend against the goblin and dodge the orc while Rania snipes the goblin, but we never agreed on cooperating, so Liam must be thinking on sacrificing himself instead on betting on defeating him.

I just can't let him suicide charge, so I charge behind him. I cast [ _Entangling Vines_ ] at the goblin's feet and hide behind my shield.

Perfect timing. The orc is occupied with Liam, so its reaction is slow, and I manage to duck under its slash, slipping past him.

As I pass, I feel the orc gaze on me. I think it knows what I'm doing. I completely hide behind my shield, blocking my vision of what's ahead.

*Ptoon*, a dart hits my shield and bounces off.

_Good, now that goblin is dead._

The vines grab both of its legs and hold it in place. It fired its blowgun and didn't dodge, so now I'm going to make it pay for it.

The goblin screams in terror and anger, then I reach it and savagely slash down diagonally. My sword slides through its skull and lops off a part of its head.

For a moment, I see its brain matter, then I immediately turn around and see Liam getting blown away several meters.

"NOOO!" Nour screams. He's striking the orc, but the monster is just effortlessly defending with its shield.

The orc has one big weakness, it's metal armor, it's vulnerable to electricity. I frantically remove a point from [Sword Use] and put it into [Electric Magic] while praying that Nour doesn't die in the next attack.

Now with a free hand, the orc savagely slashes sideways. Nour defends with his shield, then he gets splattered on the wall and all the air from his lungs gets expelled.

The orc doesn't finish him and instead jumps towards Rania. I cast [ _Lightning Bolt_ ] and hit the orc's back. It immediately stops moving, then its body starts convulsing. It's stunned, but for how long?

I do a mad dash towards it and prepare to strike. I try to slash its neck but, it turns towards me at the same time and I only wound it. His shield suddenly comes towards my face and all I can do is meet it with my own.

A loud noise of metal hitting metal fills the dungeon, then pain flares on my shield arm and shoulder from the impact.

I'm forced to take a few steps back to maintain my footing, then I cast [ _Lightning Bolt_ ] and the orc gets stunned again.

"[ _ICE LANCE_ ]!" Rania screams with a cracked voice.

I see the orc jerk away with a speed I didn't think was possible, then a spear of ice suddenly pierces the orc's shield shoulder. It's a complete penetration right in the bone joint, and the spear is a good 10cm wide, so that arm is useless.

From behind the orc, I see Rania fall to her knees.

_Was that an advanced spell? It certainly did a lot of damage to the orc._

Maybe she's inexperienced and is now suffering from mana drain like I did once, so this means I can't rely on her anymore. I need to kill the orc myself.

The orc roars in pain and anger, then he grabs the lance and pulls it out without hesitation.

I get up and cast [ _Lightning Bolt_ ] again. The monster twitches, and even though it doesn't get stunned, that's enough of an opening.

I stab the orc in the groin, and I feel my sword sinking into flesh. It seems like this is a vulnerable area where the chain and plate mail don't have proper coverage.

The orc screams again and gives me a weak blow with his claymore that I defend with my shield, but it's enough to push me backward.

My sword gets jerked around, but I don't lose my grip on it, so it does even more damage to the orc as it's violently ripped out of its body.

"RAAAAAAH!" Liam screams.

A dagger flies towards the orc's face, but it deflects it with its claymore. Liam reaches the orc a second later and slashes towards it. The orc defends against the slash, but that's another opening for me.

I jump and slash towards its throat, but it evades again with an impossibly high speed, so I only manage to wound it.

The orc is bloody. Its chest is completely stained from the blood that's pouring from its two wounds on its neck, its legs are bloody with a large amount of blood flowing from its groin, its shoulder has a large gaping hole that bleeds even more than the other wounds. But even with all this, it's still fighting like a barbarian.

It kicks Liam again, who seems to be too slow to react, and he gets blown away a few meters, then the orc tries to counter my attack with its claymore, but I manage to parry it!

_Is it losing strength? It did counter from an awkward angle, though._

"[ _SHOCKING TOUCH_ ]!" Rania screams again with an even more cracked voice. That's a level 10 [Electric Magic] spell.

Suddenly, the orc starts to convulse, and I see Rania fall behind him. She must've run out of mana.

I'm too far to immediately slash at its neck again, but it's enough for me to aim for the groin. This time my sword pierces deeply, and I quickly try to pull it out, but it's stuck.

The orc screams while still convulsing from the spell. I give up on the sword and grab my dagger, then I jump and aim for its neck.

The monster is stinky and filthy, my right hand grabs onto the back of its huge head feels something sticky, and then its smelly breath hits my face. I ignore my disgust and savagely stab his neck. The skin is incredibly tough, and the dagger's blade isn't sharp enough to penetrate deeply, but I keep stabbing into the previous wound to widen it.

The orc stops convulsing.

_Oh no, he's going to hit me. Is it going to be a punch? Or a stab? Or a slash? Or is he going to just grab my head and crush it?_

I have no time to get away, so I can just bet I can it bleed enough before I'm killed.

"STOOOP!" Nour screams, and with the corner of my eye, I see him throwing himself on the sword arm of the orc, then hugging it with all his strength.

_Thank you, Nour. You've bound the monster for me, so I'll use your opening._

I stab the orc's neck even more savagely, causing blood to spurt all over my face and chest. The orc's roar starts to die down as I split its neck open, then it falls on its knees. Its angry expression goes blank, and it starts to fall backward.

_Oh no! Not that way, you'll crush Rania!_

Both Nour and I pull the monster towards us, then it falls face down on its own pool of blood.

"You are now level 10."

Nour and I stare at him for a few seconds as we catch our breaths, then reality comes back to me and I rush towards Liam.

I kneel before him and apply [ _Regeneration_ ]. He's alive, but unconscious. I have no idea if he's bleeding internally, so I'm just going to heal him until he wakes up, then I should try to wake up Rania next. It's best that everyone is awake, even if in pain.

Nour goes to Rania and pours a glowing blue potion into her mouth.

_Isn't she going to choke on that?_

She wakes up and coughs a few times, then she opens her eyes weakly and starts swallowing the potion properly. After she finishes drinking, her body starts shivering, and Nour hugs her tight.

_Oh, okay. I guess that worked._

Liam wakes up a few seconds after, but he's too weak to get up. He slowly turns to me and mutters, "Poison…"

I think he got hit by the Swamp Goblin. This is why that monster is killed first while everyone hides behind their shields. Liam got poisoned during the fight and lost most of his physical strength.

I pull out a metal flask from one of my chest pockets and pour the thick dark liquid into his mouth. These metal flasks are for battle-potions. They're hardened so that they don't break during normal battle unless directly hit. This one contains an antidote. I got a little scared of the Mossy Fangpine and the Bush Babies, so I bought three. It's going to take around ten minutes for it to work, though, so I'm gonna keep healing Liam until then.

I drink a mana potion and continue the healing. My shoulder hurts, and Nour could be wounded too, but Liam is much worse, so he gets priority.

Rania stops shaking and Nour helps her sit, then he comes over to me.

"Is that [ _Regeneration_ ]?" He asks.

"Yeah. I don't have a lot of mana and I'm not very experienced, so this is going to take some time," I respond.

He shakes his head gently. "Oh no, you already did a lot. Here, let me give Liam one of my potions." He kneels and helps Liam drink a red potion. I see that its glow is much stronger than the ones I have.

Nour returns to Rania, then a few silent minutes pass, and Liam gets strong enough to sit. "Thank you, kind Sir, but it's enough for now. Please heal yourself," he says.

I don't want to argue since my shoulder is hurting, so I just do as he says and use the last of my mana to ease my pain. The potion is still acting, so my mana is recovering faster than normal.

Once I stop healing myself, Nour turns to me and says, "Thank you, Mr. Ryder." His voice is shaky and his face is pale. " You could've run after killing the goblin, but you didn't. You certainly saved us, but especially Liam, who was going to sacrifice himself for us."

_True… throwing myself on the orc's chest was certainly reckless._

I awkwardly rub my neck and respond, "I just… I didn't think I should run away."

"You have a noble soul," Nour softly says.

"Thank you..." Rania says with a hoarse voice.

"Indeed, I owe you my life," Liam says solemnly.

I'm getting a little overwhelmed, and I have no idea how to react, so I just smile weakly and nod.

The adrenaline is running out and the reality is sinking in. The orc should be on the eleventh floor, I don't know why the orc came here. I'm scared I'll meet another one, so I just want to go home as fast as possible.

"We need to leave this place. fast. These two monsters shouldn't be here; there's something wrong with this dungeon," I say.

"He must have entered the exit… multiple times," Rania says.

"And crossed multiple floors?! That's insane, how could such a rare thing happen repeatedly?" I question.

A monster could indeed enter the exit door on a dimensional dungeon like this one and appear on a lower floor, but that's something rare to happen even once, so for it to happen multiple times is a miracle. We won the lottery of bad luck to find him.

"Perhaps the lord has been skimping on his duties," Liam suggests.

The Lord manages the dungeons. If the monsters are not culled often, then dangerous monsters can appear, or like in this case, an extremely dangerous monster goes to a floor it's not supposed to be on.

"We need to report this," Nour says, then he stares at me intensely. "Mr. Ryder, do you have space in your [ _Item Box_ ]? We need to bring these corpses to the guild. Since you did the most, the least we can do is to let you take all the rewards for these kills."

I raise my eyebrows in surprise and ask, "Is that really okay? I didn't kill them alone."

Nour nods and insists, "Yes, it's the least we could do for now."

I don't want to argue, so I just collect both corpses, then Liam and Rania stand up, and we start walking towards the exit. Fortunately, the exit is near.

Since I'm the one in the best condition, I lead the vanguard with Nour at my side. Liam is still too weakened from the poison to lead.

We kill two goblins on the way effortlessly. Having two people in the vanguard means that one tanks the attack while the other flanks. Our swords are also sharp enough that we can kill the goblins in a single hit.

We get to the exit soon after that. The guard near the entrance jumps in place when two completely bloodied adventures and two exhausted looking ones come out of the exit.

Nour does the talking. He mentions to the guards what happened, and their faces pale. Meeting the Orc Headhunter is a nightmare for the people around here.

Two guards escort us back to town. We wipe ourselves while walking, but enough blood seeped through our clothes that even a [ _Clean_ ] can't remove it.

Luckily, the customs officers don't ask to look into my [ _Item Box_ ] since I made a blunder and put the corpses into my "Items."

When we get into the hunters guild, one of the guards run towards the closest attendant and murmurs something, then they both hurry up the stairs. The presence of the guards and the bloodied adventurers attracts quite a bit of attention. Liam and Rania are looking better now, but they still look tired, while Nour and I look quite ghastly because we couldn't fully clean our armor.

A minute later, an old man and Sonny come down. The old man is short and skinny, his pure white beard protrudes from his jaw and makes men envious with its magnificence, and he lacks hair on the top of his head, but the pure white hair on the sides is well maintained. He wears simple velvet clothing, the same color as the uniform, with only the guild symbol embroidered on his chest as decoration.

The guards signal to us, and we all go towards the dismantling area. Over there, Gordon and his assistant are processing some meat and look our way with surprise on their faces when we enter.

"Well then, could you show us the corpses?" The old man asks. He gently motions with his hand towards the large, empty tables.

I pull out the bodies, and I hear a few gasps of surprise. The orc and goblin lost their equipment, but they're still recognizable as the dangerous duo due to their physique.

Curiosity gets the best of me and I take a look. The orcs genitals are completely shredded, and I feel pain between my legs just from looking at it.

"So, it's true. We really need to send a complaint to the Lord," the old man says, then he turns to me and smiles gently. "Now, then. My name is Silas, and I'm the guildmaster. Could you all take a seat and tell us the story in detail?" He motions us towards the benches on the wall.

We obey and retell our fight.

"Quite the predicament, Sir Nour," Silas says.

_"Sir"? So it's really true that Nour is an important person. I just wonder why he didn't use his last name._

Silas turns to me and smiles as he says, "And we all benefit from having someone like Mr. Ryder among us."

_I'm bad at being praised. Should I say something in response?_

Sonny smiles wryly and says, "A Gray Berserker, and now an Orc Headhunter. You're giving us a surprise after surprise. Though I wish it was of a different kind when talking about the orc."

I chuckle and respond, "I think I just have bad luck."

_The fact that I've been isekai'd should be evidence enough of my bad luck._

"Depends on the perspective. Those two monsters are really valuable, and the prestige that comes from killing them is not small," Sonny replies.

"I just want a calm life," I say in a low tone.

Gordon laughs while butchering the orc, then Sonny murmurs something and casts a spell. I don't know what spell it is, but he starts talking towards nobody while looking at the orc. He suddenly turns around and says, "The spirit confirms it, he was killed at the sixth floor."

_So mages can talk to monster spirits, too? I know that I only need a few points in [Spirit Magic] to be able to weakly communicate with spirits, but a monster spirit being able to talk is new to me. I guess this is really useful for information gathering._

"Have you decided how the bounty is to be shared?" Sonny asks.

Nour shakes his head and replies immediately, "Oh, we aren't taking the money. Mr. Ryder saved us, so all the reward goes to him. Now, if the talk is over, we'll take our leave. We're all extremely tired, and we all we want is to rest."

"Oh, it's done. The rest is with us," Silas responds with a nod.

_They didn't even let me reply._

Nour turns to me and smiles gently as he says, "Then we'll be off. Mr. Ryder, one last thing. Could you come here to the guild tomorrow before noon? I'd like to properly give you my thanks and reward you."

I'm taken aback, and I stumble a little during my response, "I-Is that right? Sh-shouldn't the bounty reward be enough?"

His handsome face looks at me warmly and humbly. "That's just money. You saved our lives, so I should at least reward you a bit more. Please, just come tomorrow."

I sigh and nod. "Alright then. I'll come."

He grins, pleased with my response. "Thank you. Then I'll see you tomorrow. Goodbye, Mr. Silas."

Nour and his companions give Silas a quick bow and leave.

Sonny comes towards me and says, "Now, then. The reward for a runaway monster of threat level five is five gold. His corpse is going to sell for three gold and the goblin for one gold."

That's a huge amount because runaway monsters are a serious threat to everybody. The orc skin sells for a lot, and this one, especially, is way tougher than normal.

I also take this opportunity and bring out all my remaining proofs of extermination. It all sums up to four silver and a bunch of copper coins. A pittance in comparison to the orc, but at least I recouped the loss from the days that I didn't sleep at the inn.

Silas spends this short time simply observing me. It seems that I've already caught the eye of the guildmaster, but I'll be laying low for the week, so no grand feat will come while I simply relax and train safe and sound inside these walls. I also don't believe in jinxing, so I can say this with confidence.

After I take my money, I say my goodbyes and leave.

It's almost night, so I go towards the inn's bathhouse and get a few concerned glances when they see my bloodied armor. I'll leave the cleaning of the blood for later, so I take out a fresh set of spare clothes after I take a wash.

Today, I order a drink while eating. They only have something similar to apple cider currently since the juice ran out, and there's not much wine in the town.

I eat my meal with happiness, not necessarily because it's good, but because I'm happy to be alive. Once I left the guild, I felt like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. All I want is some comfort and love, away from being in situations where I have to frantically stab a disgusting orc in the neck.

The innkeeper's daughter seems to be extra lovely to me this dinner. I learn that her name is Selina, and starts some small talk, but it doesn't last long because she's too busy.

Once she leaves I just decide to enjoy my meal: a vegetable salad with a lot of cooked beans and some chicken sauce. The vegetables of this season seem to be slightly sweet, similar to carrots and pumpkins. They go well with the beans and extra well with mutton, but today there's none. Instead, I have marbled Rabid Rabbit meat, and it's of a much higher quality cut than the one sold at a stall.

After eating, I drop on my bed and go to sleep immediately.


	4. Nour's Gift

A knock on the door wakes me up, then a female voice says, "Breakfast is ready!"

My body is light, but my soul is heavy.

_I don't want to get up._

I can still smell the orc's blood. It has imprinted upon my heart.

I didn't dream of the Gargling Goblin, but now I think I might have acquired a bigger trauma. The scene of stabbing the orc in the neck keeps replaying in my mind when my mind wanders. The fear of something coming to attack me from my back assaults me, giving me repeated chills.

_If it weren't for Nour, the orc would've grabbed my head and crushed it…_

Eventually, hunger wins over fear, and I go down to eat.

The meal is a simple vegetable soup with Rabid Rabbit meat and toasted bread. The vegetables aren't the sweet this time, so it goes well with the meat.

Selina comes to my table and asks, "Say, what was all that blood you had on you yesterday?"

I give her a slightly bitter smile as I respond, "It was from an Orc Headhunter. I had a very unfortunate encounter with it yesterday."

Her mouth hangs in surprise, then she takes a seat and looks at me worriedly. "The one inside Royd's Kerfuffle? Why did you fight it? I only heard stories of people running away from him."

I nod. "It was a runaway. I met it on the 6th floor."

She gasps and covers her mouth with her hands.

_How cute._

"Did you fight him alone?!" She exclaims, and I see a few customers start to listen intensely.

_Please lower your voice, Selina._

I shake my head while smiling wryly, then I answer, "Heavens, no. I fought it with three other people. We were cornered, so we couldn't run away, and we were forced to fight it. I ended up being the luckiest one and got hit the least, while one guy got poisoned, and I'm sure that he broke a few ribs when he got kicked twice."

"Wow. But to come back that bloody… did you have a knife fight with him, or something?" She giggles a little.

_Please stop being cute, I'm not in the mood to smile._

My faint smile gains a subtle smugness to it, and I respond, "Actually, I did. My sword got stuck in its body, so I had to use my knife to stab it in the neck."

_I won't say that I got it stuck in his groin, that's a sight I want to forget._

She lets her mouth hang open again while she stares at me with a blank expression.

_Did I brag too much?_

I awkwardly massage my neck and add, "Well, the most important person was the magician woman. She cast [ _Ice Lance_ ] and pierced the Orc's shoulder, so it couldn't use its shield arm anymore, then she used [Shocking Touch] and fainted. With that, I had a good opening to stab it until it died. There was also another guy who helped by throwing himself into the arm of the orc and holding it in place so that I could finish it. Adding the poisoned guy who fought while weakened and got kicked twice, that was a really desperate fight."

She closes her mouth and her eyes shine while she smiles. "Wow. That sounds amazing," she whispers.

I knit my eyebrows in worry at her sudden shift. "Really? Is fighting so interesting?" I ask.

She nods repeatedly, and rests her elbows on the table, leaning closer. "Yes! I know that I'm not strong, and I don't like fighting, but to think that there are people who work so hard, who can achieve so much to protect us, that makes me really happy."

_Oh, boy, stop, my heart is melting._

Even the eavesdroppers smile at her innocence.

I become awkward again and respond, "I-Is that so… well… your enthusiasm makes me a little happy."

She giggles and says, "Thank you for your story. I gotta continue working, so come back later to talk." Then she gets up and leaves.

Honestly, that conversation healed my heart, a little, but still healed. I guess this is why some people fight, because if it weren't for us killing that runaway, then someone else would have to suffer.

I finish my meal and go back to my room.

  
  


I have some time to kill, so I think about what I should do with my new skill points. I open my "Status" and see that my "Willpower" increased by 1 (now 12), my [Sword Use] also increased by 1 (now 9+2), my MP increased by 20 (now 135), and my "Magic Power" by 5 (now 190).

_How does this magic increase works? It just increases with use, or do I have to "exercise" something within my body like a muscle?_

I put all my points in [Reduced Mana Cost] because I need to be able to cast magic more often. Perhaps at the next level, I should get more [Mana Efficiency], then later improve my melee skills again.

I think I'll waste another hour here at the inn. Nour said to be at the hunter's guild just before noon, so there's still a few hours until then.

_I really have to steel my heart because that won't be the last time that I have to fight so desperately. I'm going for the life of a warrior, so my weak and soft Earth-born heart won't survive. This is a brutal world, and after thinking about Selina's words, I understand that there's a need for strong people who protect the others._

_This skill system gives me the potential to grow quickly and become extremely strong, and I think that whatever god threw me here probably won't let me lead a peaceful life, so going for the crafter's route might not be the best idea. Besides, it's a bit "romantic" to be a warrior in a monster-filled world._

_My motto has always been: "do the thing you won't regret in the future," so, becoming a selfish hermit hoarding all this power to myself doesn't fit right with me._

_Well, saying is different than doing. Even after this period of reflection, I still feel pain and fear, which is a bit laughable. Perhaps I need some time to let the fear subside. I'd already decided I should take a week off, anyway, so there's no need to keep thinking too much about this._

I spend some time massaging my sore muscles, and it actually feels good.

_Is there perhaps a massage parlor around here? I know that there's a [Massage] skill, so it could be a common profession. I'd definitely go there if I find one._

After relaxing a while, I decide to go meet Nour.

  
  


The hunter's guild has its usual rough atmosphere, but the number of people around the hunt report boards is larger than what I expected. I quickly find Nour at the tables along with his companions. Liam and Rania are drinking something while Nour is simply chatting with them.

They notice me and wave as I approach.

"Good day, Mr. Ryder," Nour greets casually.

"Good day, Sir," Liam greets formally as usual.

"Morning, Mr. Ryder," Rania greets more energetically than the last time we talked.

"Good day, everybody. I hope you all slept well," I respond with a smile.

"I barely remember sleeping, I just blacked out. We drank too much, and even Liam participated," Nour says with a grin.

"We have to let it out once in a while. It's not every day we fight so hard," Liam calmly defends himself.

"Well, little brother, it seems that your next lesson is on how to hold your own liquor," Rania says and she shows him her tongue with a blank expression.

Nour's eye twitches, and he smiles with a faint pout as he responds, "That's… _not_ true. I can hold it just fine."

"You _did_ just admit the contrary a few seconds ago," I comment with a wry smile.

He turns to me and exclaims, "Even you…! You know what, I'll drink every day until I learn my lesson!" He declares dramatically

"Please don't!" Liam pleads.

"I retract my previous statement," Rania says and chuckles.

I let out a few shy chuckles along with her. Seeing them all like this makes me feel a little silly I got so scared.

Nour calms down and his expression softens, then he continues, "But anyway… let's get down to business. I wanted to reward you, and I knew that you were going solo, so I prepared this." -He pushes a sealed letter to me- "You see, I'm a stupid son of a wealthy merchant, and although I decided to take on adventuring, I still have my own connections, so I made a letter of reference. This will open the doors to you to the most expensive Blood Slave trader of this town, and I obtained a _heavy_ discount for you there, so you might be able to choose among the best that they have to offer."

I lift my eyebrows in surprise, but I tense up a bit as I say, "Oh, wow… that's incredible, but… I don't really know much about Blood Slaves…"

I know that level 1 in [Slavery Magic] there's the spell called [ _Contract of Servitude_ ], then at level 10 there's the spell [ _Mark of the Master_ ], and at level 20 there's the spell [ _Tongue of Obedience_ ], but that's absolutely all of the information that I have on it.

Rania raises an eyebrow and asks me, "Your parents didn't teach you about Blood Slaves?"

I force a smile and look away. "They did… I just didn't pay attention," I lie.

Nour and Rania chuckle, while Liam holds back a smile.

"It's why I'm here. I'm a bit… 'free-spirited,'" I lie again and chuckle at myself. My own awkwardness and embarrassment only serves to improve the character I'm trying to sell.

"I see…" Nour mutters while smirking, then he leans back on his chair and taps his temple in thought.

Rania clears her throat and starts, "A Blood Slave is a specialized servant that you buy to perform a specific duty. Their performance is assured by the seller, while their loyalty is enforced through [Slavery Magic]. They ingest your blood, and then a spell is used to bind them to your Fate."

_"Fate"? What's that? Can I eat it?_

I hold back the urge to ask about Fate, and instead ask about something else, "What types of 'duties' do they perform?" I ask.

Nour shrugs and responds, "Anything. If someone thinks that they're skilled enough in something and that they're worthy of becoming a servant, then they could sell themselves as a Blood Slave. Take Liam, by example." He pats his shoulder, then smiles at me proudly.

Rania pats his other shoulder and continues, "He has a real talent for the sword and protecting others. He cost a lot, but he was worth every coin." She smiles warmly at him, and I get suspicious about these two.

Liam stiffens for a moment, then nods respectfully towards me and says, "I was having trouble making money through adventuring, so I decided to sell myself for ten years. By the end of my contract, I'll have a small fortune, so I'll go back to my hometown in Faium and inherit my father's smith. If the smith fails, then I'll still have enough money to live comfortably for a while."

"Contract?" I question, and Rania rolls her eyes while Nour smiles. I believe they're thinking I'm a country bumpkin due to my lack of knowledge.

Nour leans forward and happily responds, "The person selling themselves stipulates limits to what their duty entails and the length of their servitude. Usually, the fewer limits, the more expensive the slave is, but few put strict limits because if there's too many, then it's easier to just buy a traditional slave, instead. A lot of women sell themselves as sex slaves, so the most common limit is related to that."

_Uh… sex slaves…?_

I glance at Rania, but she's just casually sipping her drink, she doesn't show a single reaction.

"With the discount in this letter, you can get yourself a young female warrior, if that's your thing, of course," Nour adds, then he smirks when he sees my awkward reaction.

_Holy shit._

"You're pretty versatile yourself, but I recommend you think carefully about what kind of warrior will work well with your style," Rania comments.

Nour nods and continues, "You got some good skill with the sword, you can heal yourself, you can sense monsters, and you have a spell you can cast chantless, so you can choose almost whoever you want and they'll still be useful to you."

_Ah, shit. I guess mages should chant before casting their spells, but I know nothing about that. At least now I know why it took Rania so long to cast her spells, and even why she screamed its name._

"You're not very tall or physically strong, if you forgive my bluntness, so I recommend someone more robust instead of a mage like Dame Rania," Liam adds and lowers his head respectfully.

"No offense taken," I respond and smile gently.

Rania's gaze becomes slightly stern and measuring as she says, "Keep in mind that the Gods watch over the Blood Slaves, so if the master is being abusive, they can interfere and nullify the contract without the intervention of a priest. It's rare, but it happened before."

I stiffen instinctively and nod.

_The 'Gods'? So it's god-sanctioned slavery? That's… a little concerning._

Since they're already thinking I'm a dumb peasant, I'll just ask whatever I'm curious about, so I decide to ask, "What's [ _Tongue of Obedience_ ]?"

Rania doesn't seem to have the patience for this, so Nour responds, "That spell prevents the Blood Slave from spilling your secrets. There are a few others, like one that prevents the Slave from hurting you, or another that gives you full control of their body, allowing you to even kill them with a word, but that's illegal, of course."

_Full body control seems worse than normal slavery, but my curiosity makes me want to ask questions like: "Can I control their intestines?" Can I control their eyes? Can I stop the blood flow of certain veins?" Maybe I can perform surgery without the need for anesthesia or blood loss if I can cut blood flow or nerve response at will._

"That sounds a bit much," I comment with a wry smile.

Nour shrugs, and they all nod.

"Yeah, but it's really useful. Most aides of nobles and Lords are Blood Slaves because they're much more reliable and trustworthy than free men," Rania comments.

Nour happily continues, "Of course, there are loopholes to their contracts and these spells, but they're so roundabout and require so much effort that you need a slave who _really_ hates their master for them to do that. It's easier for them to concentrate the effort in breaking the contract than for them to go around those limitations. Any contract can be broken by a slave that hates its master enough, by the way."

"Which is why it's important to treat them well," Rania says and glances at Liam, who nods subtly.

_So, leaving the moral question aside, I guess this is a really thoughtful gift from Nour. He put some thought into what I needed and delivered something that's really valuable._

After allowing me a few moments to think things through, Nour adds, "I know that you got some good money from yesterday's rewards, so, with my discount, you can get yourself a pretty good fighter. You might even get lucky." -He shrugs- "Sometimes there are Blood Slaves with specific circumstances, and these sell for much cheaper than they would normally go for."

_Well, I got a trump card: my rose coin. It should be really valuable. Well, at least I hope it is._

I nod in understanding and smile gently as I say, "Thank you, Nour, I really appreciate this. I think this will help me a lot."

Nour gives me a wide smile, and even Rania seems pleased. He tells me where the slaver is, and I write it down on my rough map of the town.

Nour lands his hands loudly on the table and says, "Now, then. With this business done, I have a personal request for you." -his face turns serious- "How about you join us? A man with skills such as yours is a rarity."

I smile bitterly. I knew that this was coming. I honestly would like to join them because they're good people, and even if I don't know what their goals are, I'd like to spend more time with them. But no, I can't. They already saw a lot of my skills, so I can't really show them more.

"I'm sorry, but… I'd like to walk my own path," I answer and lower my head for a second.

"Told you," Rania says to Nour and also smiles bitterly.

Nour shrugs, and his tone gains a hint of sadness as he responds, "Well, I had to try. It's a shame that we can't walk together, but I don't want this to be the end. I'm going back to my hometown for a short trip, but I'll come back here later and continue my adventuring. When I come back, I'd like to meet you again, if you wish."

"Oh, yes. Please, let us meet again," I answer and give him a genuine smile.

"I live in Hurfa, the capital of the Faium Principality. If we don't cross paths again, then come visit me. My family runs a magic tool shop, and we produce a lot of the Wind stones used in the country. My last name is Asaf, so you can search for my family with this. You... shouldn't have much problem finding the family shop there." He smiles wryly.

I have no idea where Faium is, but I'll write it down later so that I don't forget to look for it on a map. Also, his last name sounds Arabic, but he's as Caucasian as they come.

I nod. "Understood. If we don't meet here again, then I'll search for you. I don't really have plans to leave this place for quite some time, though."

He slaps the table and gets up. "Then it's decided! I look forward to meeting you again. For now, we have to prepare for our trip, so we must take our leave. See you again sometime, Mr. Ryder." He gives me a quick bow.

I quickly get up and return the bow. I have no idea if this is the custom here, but it seems to please them, so whatever.

Nour grins and adds, "One last thing, Mr. Ryder. I wish you good luck in the future. You'll need it since you seem to be making waves already." Then he points towards the small crowd near the hunt reports.

_I wish I wasn't, Nour, I wish I wasn't._

Rania and Liam also bow and say their goodbyes, then I'm just left with a few curious gazes, a letter, and a head full of thoughts.

  
  


I leave the guild and start walking along the streets looking for books while thinking about what they told me. A companion would certainly be helpful. If I had someone to watch my back, then there'd be no need to fear the Orc Headhunter crushing my head. If I had someone like Nour to help me, then for sure I'd feel much safer, and it's not because of his skill, but because of his actions. I might be considered the one who saved _them_ , but the moment that Nour threw himself at the orc's arm was when he saved _me_.

And it's not like Blood Slaves are completely miserable people. They seem to have their own rights, the ability to escape abuse, and there's a lot of focus in treating them well. Take Liam, for example, he seems pretty proud and content with his job, and he seems no different than a knight or a retainer with the task of protecting his lord. If I just hire someone for a few years, then it might be the same as hiring a bodyguard, or something.

The concept of depriving someone of their freedom might put people off, but I'm a bitter realist. Blood Slaves are merely mercenaries that come with a magical contract. Hell, even the gods are observing so that they're not abused.

_Oh! I found a small book telling the Tale of Creation. It even has a lot of cute drawings in it. I'm buying it! Two silver._

Now that I think about it, I should ask Ciel about what the gods think of slavery. It seems odd to me they are getting involved with Blood Slaves, but if the gods themselves say it's okay, then who am I to go against them?

But this also means that society won't really progress. This world might be safer by having the gods watching over the people, but it's like an overprotective mother. The people won't suffer, but they won't learn.

Adding that to the skill system, and I think that the social progress here might be slow. I want to take a look at the chronology of this world, and I bet that history doesn't progress nowhere near as fast as Earth's. This world's "cycle" is called a "Playground," after all. If things change too much and too fast, the genre of the game changes to sci-fi while you're not looking.

I think the best thing about Blood Slaves is that I can prohibit them from talking about me. This way, I don't have to worry too much about my abilities showing. I could even tell the truth that I'm not from this worl-…

_What the hell?_

There's a man flying around on a literal carpet. He's darting along the street while making quick turns and barrel rolls.

_What's the matter Aladdin, looking for Jasmine?_

Once the passersby start to stop to stare at him, the man lowers near the ground and stands up on the carpet.

"Good day, gentlemen and gentlewomen!" He exclaims in a loud voice that has the characteristic buzzing of someone talking on a microphone. He waits a moment to make sure that everyone is looking at him, then he continues, "I have shown you all just a small glimpse of the newest magic tool developed! The true [ _Fly_ ] stone! This gem is incomparable to that common fake jewel that only allowed you to slowly float around. Now you can fly as graciously as a bird, turn so fast a dragon would be envious, and make tricks that could impress even the Emperor! This gem is the bleeding edge of technology. Even the imperial army is buying it in droves to construct a new generation of the dream of every adventurer: the airships!"

_Ooooh, airships, my nerd heart is pounding._

"Come to the Quizzical Emporium at the Bazaar for the latest [ _Fly_ ] gems. We have magic tools so big you can build airships that can hold as much as eight people! I hope to see you there, honorable citizens!" And he darts away, this time for good.

The street starts buzzing with people excitedly talking, and I even feel like clapping my hands. I add this flying gem to my notes as research options. Airships and the [Golemancy] skill are the two things that I'm most eager to research about.

_Wait what was I thinking about?_

Uh… oh yeah, I think that I could even tell the truth about my origin to the Blood Slave. It's risky, but if I make a contract of at least twenty years, it might be enough to get the trust or goodwill for them to keep quiet about it. At that time, I might even find a way to deal with it if the word gets out, and if I acquire enough power, I might be able to squash the rumors, too.

But do I have to tell the truth…? It's not like a slave _needs_ to know everything about their master, they're just there to serve. I also can't just tell them that I came from another world and leave it at that. If I tell them the truth, then I'll need to tell a lot more than just that to answer their doubts. It's not a kind of conversation that makes me very excited to have.

Regardless, I see little reason to _not_ buy one.

I don't really have an idea what the price of one might be, so I should go look for the value of the rose coin.

The banker is near the Nobles' Quarters, so I need to go across the town. I'll first go to the temple, eat something nearby, talk to Ciel about the gods and slavery, and then go to the banker to see the value of the rose coin.

I think I might visit the slave trader tomorrow morning. It's near the castle in the north, so it's another long trip there. It's a bit tiring walking everywhere, so maybe I should look for the price of that magic carpet. I also don't feel like paying for a space mage transport; I always hated taxis.

  
  


I look for a better restaurant this time, and I find one serving Great Boar meat. They aren't commonly found here, but a hunter expedition deep into the Sea of Trees found a pack there, so some restaurants have a lot of Boar meat to offer for the next few days.

The beans are good, but I miss rice, too. I'm a Brazilian who immigrated to Canada, and I miss the staple food of my homeland once in a while: rice, beans, and Brazilian-style barbecued meat.

I waste some of my time in a tea shop. They serve something similar to black tea with an unidentified citric fruit. Is this Earl Grey? It tastes similar, but it's closer to the average orange than the bergamot. They serve a few simple butter cookies that go really well with it.

Then I go into the temple and search for Ciel. I take a walk around the outer ring looking for her while also taking a closer look at the statues, but she's not down here. I ask a standby priest and he tells me she's at the orphanage. Luckily, today isn't her free day.

The orphanage looks exactly the same as the priests' living quarters, with the only difference being that instead of priests, there are children entering and leaving all the time.

The orphanage is a large, box-shaped white building with a brown tiled roof, which looks a little expensive for a religious institution. It has flowery carvings covering all of its walls, and the channels are filled with a gradient of colors. The orphanage and the quarters seem to be the only buildings where some decoration is allowed. It's quite pretty, and makes me feel like I'm looking at one of these "trendy" and "artsy" places back on Earth.

There's only a brown picket fence surrounding the orphanage and the priests' quarters, but is it really okay for me to enter uninvited?

The orphanage is in the middle of the plot, covering most of the available land. At the front, there's a simple grass garden with a cobbled path towards the entrance, but I can see some sort of small flower garden behind the building. On this grass garden, there's a metal swing, a merry-go-round, and a raised goal where the children are playing some sort of game of hot potato with a small leather ball.

I gather some courage and enter the area. A few boys look interested in my sword while the rest ignore me. I quickly enter the building and look around. The inside is made of gray square stone, while the floor is made of light brown wood, with the only decoration being some wooden pillars around. Just as I finish observing my surroundings, an old male priest walks by.

"Oh, hello, can I help you?" The priest asks as his small eyes look at me warmly. His voice is so gentle that it tickles my ears.

"I'm… looking for Miss Ciel," I respond, a little mesmerized by him.

His expression brightens and he smiles. "Oh! The sister is in the kitchen. I'll call her over for you. What's your name?"

"Wolf Ryder. Uh, if she's busy, I'll just come another time; it's not urgent business."

He shakes his head gently. "She's not really busy, so don't worry. Come sit here on the sofa while I call her over."

He takes me to a guest room with a really cozy atmosphere. There's a few simple sofas around a low coffee table; a small fireplace that cackles with burning logs, yet I smell no smoke; and a "Last Supper"-style painting of the multiple Humanoid Gods hanging above it. I like this painting more than the one on Earth because it's full of different, colorful races and people, and has both genders instead of just boring, bearded men.

After a few minutes, Ciel comes into the room carrying a tray with a tea set and cookies.

Oh, no, I just drank tea, but I don't wanna deny her hospitality, so I'll just pretend I'm not full.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Ryder. I was wondering when you'd come back," she says while pouring tea for me.

"I spent the last few days training in a dungeon, and I only came back last night," I respond with a gentle tone.

She nods and smiles warmly. "I'm glad you're okay. Every day-cycle, we have news of someone disappearing inside a dungeon, so please, be careful."

I smile awkwardly. "My motto is 'don't die,' so I have no plans of dying soon."

She chuckles softly and sits, then sips her tea. "So, what you wanted to talk about?"

I swallow heavily. There are a few things I want to ask about, but I'm sure she'll be thinking I'm a weirdo after I ask them.

_Fuck it. Curiosity wins._

"There are a few things I want to understand better. The first thing is, what's a day-cycle?" I ask.

She exhales loudly in amusement and raises her eyebrows in surprise as she says, "Oh? Well, a day-cycle is a period of ten days, a half-cycle is five days. Every day-cycle you are advised to deeply bathe once, every day-cycle you are advised to pray once, every day-cycle you should make merry at least once, every half-cycle the town watch goes out to cull monsters, every half-cycle you should make love to your partner at least once, every half-cycle the meals should change."

"How about months and years? How many days a month has and how many months a year has?"

"A month has thirty days and a year has ten months, so a year has three hundred days."

So, a day-cycle is equivalent to an Earth's week. Perhaps ten days is chosen because of the ten "base elements" in the Tale of Creation. I don't know why thirty and three hundred are chosen, though. Maybe it was made this way just so it's somewhat similar to Earth. I don't think the Japanese believe there's anything special about the numbers three or ten.

I look at Ciel and see that she seems both amused and confused by these questions.

I nod in thought and respond, "Ah, I see. On my homeland, we say weeks, instead of day-cycle and it was seven days, not ten."

She knits her eyebrows and holds back a chuckle. "How curious…" She mutters.

I quickly change the topic to not let her think too much about it. "Anyway, I also heard about Blood Slaves, and I got curious about why would the Gods get involved with this matter."

Her face softens as she starts thinking more seriously. "An interesting thought…" She spends a moment thinking, then assumes a teaching tone as she answers, "The Humanoid Gods are chosen to be our guides. They keep us on the correct path so we don't make a mistake too terrible that we destroy ourselves. We need to keep united and strong so we can always put a front against the Monster King. Therefore, it's their reason of existence to get involved with every aspect of our lives."

I'm not sure how safe it is to push these sorts of questions to a priest of all people, but I need to get a "feeling" about how slavery is treated in this world. "But why do the Gods accept slavery?"

She raises her eyebrows in surprise for a moment and asks, "What do you mean by that? Why _wouldn't_ they accept it?"

I awkwardly scratch my head as I think this question again.

_It's better to be direct._

I breathe in and ask, "Isn't it cruel to chain innocent people into servitude regardless of the reason? Isn't it too much to have absolute control over someone's life? To be able to toy with their bodies, to force them to do anything and everything you want against their wishes, even if it's not immediately harmful, why should anyone have this much power over others?"

She leans forward, and her face becomes serious as she asks, "Do you believe people should be able to sell their bodies?"

I'm taken aback a little. "You mean… like… prostitution?"

She shakes her head. "No, not just that. A bodyguard is someone who sells their sword and their health to protect someone or something important. A craftsman is someone who sells their hands to their employer. A slave is someone who sells their time and loyalty to their master."

"But… are all slaves voluntary?"

She nods, and her face softens. "Most are. Debt slaves, criminal slaves, and war slaves are involuntary, but they make for bad workers and they lack loyalty, so they aren't as popular."

_Wait… this world's slavery is the inverse of Earth's._

I blink blankly and ask immediately, "Why wouldn't they be popular? It's free labor."

She knits her eyebrows in worry as she responds, "They're being forced to work in something they don't like and to a master they hate, of course, they'd be horrible workers. Because of this, the masters have to spend more making these slaves happy than voluntary slaves."

_Make them… "happy"…?_

"Can't they 'motivate' the slaves to work harder with lashings? By that I mean, can't they punish the slaves if they don't work hard enough?" I question.

She frowns and her tone becomes serious, making me think that I might be pushing too far. "I sincerely hope you aren't thinking that slaves should be treated like that, Mr. Ryder. We aren't in Bestiaram; committing the Sin of Torture is punishable with death."

I force an apologetic smile and respond, "N-no. I was just asking to satisfy my curiosity. It's hard to truly understand things without asking questions from all angles."

She opens her eyes wide and looks away awkwardly. "Ah, I see. It's always good to be curious…" -She turns to me and lowers her head for a moment- "I apologize for doubting you. I didn't realize what you were doing, and it's bad form to assume the worst of someone during a discussion."

I wave my hand. "It's fine, it's fine. I should've been careful with my wording." And we share a smile.

Her tone becomes more casual and amused. "Are you sure you shouldn't call yourself a scholar? I've remembered going through these same arguments when being taught about philosophy and morals."

I blush faintly. I only have a surface-level understanding of philosophy, but it might be above the average for the commoner in this world.

I shake my head and answer, "I'm not a scholar, I'm just a curious person."

She smiles warmly and takes another sip. "Then continue as so. The Gods like people like you."

I nod and continue, "So, why would anyone sell themselves voluntarily?"

"To have a better life; to serve a better purpose; to aid a better person. The reasons are endless."

I frown. "A 'better person'? What do you mean by that?"

She assumes a teaching tone and answers, "We aren't all born as equals, but we all have a capacity to grow. Some people grow faster and further than others, so it's your duty to find these people and aid them. Those who can protect others, lord over those who can't, and the weak aid the strong, so that the strong can protect the weak."

_Okay, I like the last part, but…_

"Why is it our 'duty' to aid others?"

She smiles smugly like a teacher about to lay unto their students a long lesson. "We are all children of the God of Creation. Regardless of where you're born and what you believe, our mission is to survive and keep the cycle going. That is our main purpose, our reason of existence. But we've inherited the will of the God of Creation, so our second purpose is to create as many new and interesting things as possible. Lastly, we've also inherited the will of the God of Change, so our third purpose is to keep civilization moving forward and progressing.

"Do you understand it now?" She asks with expectant eyes.

I nod in understanding. "It's the will of the God of Change. If you can't aid others, then at least aid someone who can."

She smiles brightly like a mother who's proud of her son's school grade, making me blush again. "Perfectly stated."

I cough and recompose myself, then I continue, "But what if we want to abolish slavery and institute a democracy?"

She chuckles once. "The strong serving the weak? That wouldn't work very well. The Gods won't stop you from trying, but you'll have to face the consequences if you fail."

"'Consequences'?"

She nods sternly. "The nobility exists to protect us, but if they fail, they have no reason to exist anymore, so they're deposed, if not outright killed as punishment."

_Oof, that's harsh…_

She seems amused with my surprise and continues, "Just like the God of Creation is a subordinate of the God of Change, _we_ are subordinates of the God of Creation, and the slaves are subordinates to us. To abolish slavery would be meaningless since we'll always be compelled to serve our betters due to our reasons of existence. You can run and hide from that reason, but the gods will find a way to guide you back to the path or simply kill you. 'Slavery' is just a system to aid us in fulfilling that purpose."

"What do you mean by 'kill you'?" I ask with a worried frown.

Her gentle voice seems a bit incongruent with what she says, "Exactly that. The Genderless God of Existence is a subordinate from the God of Creation that watches over us and kills those who stand in the way of our reason of existence."

"What do you mean by 'stand in the way'?"

Her voice becomes serious, giving me a chill. "Those who only want to spread chaos, those who cause the realm to wither, the Sinners who go too far, and the heretics that stand against the Gods. These are the kinds of people that are killed by the God of Existence."

_So, being smited by the Gods is a real possibility. I better not antagonize them… but wait…_

"If they can do that, why doesn't the Gods govern us like a king does?" I ask.

She seems slightly amused at my question. "Because that goes against the main purpose of the God of Change: to keep things moving forward. If a God, who exists only for a single purpose, is given the power to govern us, then civilization will be forever bound to that God's mentality, impeding us from growing or evolving."

"And that would be the wish of the God of Order? To have things stagnate and decay?" I question tentatively.

She nods and smiles. "Indeed, but remember, the God of Order and Destruction are still Gods, so we can't ignore their wisdom."

"Huh? What you mean?"

She seems very much amused by my confusion. She assumes her teaching tone again and answers, "They may be trying to destroy us, but their essence is still very important to us. Just because our purpose is to create, doesn't mean that we can't destroy. It's necessary to kill a monster or an animal before you can cook a delicious steak. Just because we are to change, doesn't mean it has to be every single aspect of us. A kingdom needs peace to be allowed to grow and build. The Overseer created the Gods to maintain the balance on the realm so that the cycle could continue, therefore, we must preserve this balance, too."

_Oh, I understand… they don't see the God of Order and Destruction as "evil," only as an "opponent."_

I grab my chin in thought and say, "So it's all a hierarchy. No matter how we're pitted against one another, we're to keep the balance, not eliminate the other."

She nods, very pleased. "Precisely. It goes from the Overseer, to the God of Change, to the God of Creation, to the Genderless God of Existence, to the Humanoid Gods, to the royalty, to the nobility, to the commoner, to the Blood Slave, to the normal slave, and finally, to the criminal slave.

"The God of Order rules over the God of Destruction, who rules over the monsters. They're opposed to us, but that's just their nature, so we accept that their presence is necessary to force us to adapt and grow."

_The structure of this society is controlled by the gods, and if we wanted to change it, we'd basically have to destroy half the gods in this world. Social progress must be truly stagnating because of this._

"Going back a little, do the gods specify when they intervene?" I ask.

She takes a sip and observes me intently as she answers, "To prevent people from abusing the line if the criteria are known, we're never told exactly why someone received Godly punishment."

_This is a bit worrying, but I kind of understand the reasoning._

"So, the only safe choice is to keep being as good as you can to avoid punishment?" I question.

She smiles warmly and says, "Exactly."

"But what does it mean to be a 'good person'?"

The happy and energetic way she talks about these things is quite cute. "Well, you basically follow the teachings of the Humanoid Gods. Don't waste food, don't hurt others for pleasure, don't commit crimes like theft or extortion, help others whenever you can, things like that. It depends on the God, and there are many, many teachings, but you aren't required to follow them all _perfectly_. The Gods are reasonable, you won't be punished just because you wasted a piece of food, but if you keep doing it, then the Gods will send messages and warnings, and if you still defy them, then you get punished."

_Alright, reasonable, but inflexible. Morality really is defined by the gods, but since they're chosen from the mortals, then, in a way, morality is actually defined by_ us _. It just depends on the criteria of how the gods are chosen._

"Are there any known criteria for the Humanoid Gods being chosen?" I ask.

"That's not known to prevent it from being exploited, but we know that all Gods were once people who achieved something great."

_Eh, maybe it isn't so bad._

I massage my neck to dispel some of the tension that accumulated. Talking about religion to a priest where you don't know their reaction is a little frightening.

I finish my tea and say, "Well, I think that's enough about slavery for me today, but I have one last question: I want to choose a god to worship, so can you tell me a quick resume of the Humanoid Gods?"

She suddenly brightens up and giggles. "Oh! That's a good thing. Most people choose around three that might help their lives the most, but if you have the time to study what they represent you could choose more.

"Anyway, their names are quite self-explanatory, they are: Genderless God of Existence; God of the Sun and Sister Goddess of the Moons; Goddess of Fertility; Goddess of Piety; Goddess of Will; Goddess of Love; Goddess of Growth; God of War; God of Law; God of Festivity; God of Endurance; God of Luck; Goddess of Knowledge and Brother God of Intelligence; Goddess of the Plants and Twin Brother God of the Animals."

_"Moons" as in there's more than one moon? I've realized I haven't seen the night sky yet. I had no reason to since I immediately went to sleep after getting dark, but now I have to remember to check the sky tonight, otherwise, my curiosity will kill me._

"What does the Goddess of the Moons and the God of the Sun do?" I ask.

"They were the first Gods, so their teachings are broader and more general because of that. These days, their focus is bringing happiness for those who work below the sun or the moons, but they aren't worshiped as much as they were before, though they're still the ones who talk the most to their worshipers."

_So, I guess I should choose one of them if I wanted to talk to a God._

I hum in thought, then I lower my head for a moment and say, "Thank you for your time, Miss Ciel, this is really enlightening. I'll think about choosing one for now."

She giggles cutely and responds, "Thank you for choosing me to talk to. I enjoyed a lot talking to you because you made me remember the basis of my faith and stimulated my thoughts."

I smile back and get up. "Then I'll be off. I'll see you another day."

"I'll be waiting." She waves goodbye and I leave.

As I make my way out, I see that the old priest I talked to when I first came here is in the room beside ours, casually reading a book. Perhaps he was eavesdropping? Well, it doesn't matter much to me.

Now, I have to go to a bank and look at the conversion rate for the rose coin. The bankers are all over the noble quarters as a safety measure, and since it doesn't matter which one I go, I'm just going to choose the closest one.

  
  


The walk to the banker is quite long, but it allows me to observe the carnival that the adventurers wear gradually turn into the more delicate clothes of the wealthy, who at least have a better sense of style than them. It seems that cloaks, sleeveless velvet jackets, and thin cotton pants and shirts are in fashion right now, while their wealth is shown through lavish decorations on the side of the arms, flanks, and legs.

I think about passing by the university's library, but after taking a look at my clothes, I realize that it might be a very uncomfortable experience. From what I understood, the university is either for the gifted, the wealthy, or the noble. I don't have any of these three to show, so I need at least a better set of clothing before I even try to go there.

That thought gets reinforced when I enter the bank. This is a fancy, fancy place. I see spiral pillars with details in gold and purple, black floor tiles with a perfect shine, couches that make my ass tingle just from looking, uniforms that make the employees look as fashionable as nobles, and a large line of decorated booths where attendants wait with a perfect smile.

_I don't belong here. I need to finish my business as quickly as possible and then leave._

I find the nearest attendant and shyly ask for the conversion rates of the coins. I feel that he looks at me coldly, but responds in a perfect tone without any hint of rudeness, then he points me towards familiar black boards hanging on a wall. They're just like the ones at the hunters' guild.

These boards hold conversion rates for a variety of coins, and while most are for foreign coins, the board in the middle with the decorated borders is the one for the local coins. They explain the materials that they coins are made from, and the conversion rate between each of them.

All coins are made with alloys, and their value depends on the alloy composition and weight. Governments might change the alloys and weight of the coin as economic measures, so it's important to always know the precise make up of each coin. For example, they could reduce weight to save costs, introduce cheaper metals to dilute the alloy, or completely change the alloy when new mines are found or old ones are exhausted.

To my extreme happiness, rose coins are very valuable.

The normal exchange rate that the empire aims to maintain is that copper, silver, gold, and rose coins have a 1:100 exchange rate. This means that 1 silver equals 100 copper, 1 gold equals 100 silver, and so on.

The attendant explains that a few months ago, a mine that holds a massive amount of platinum was discovered, which is the metal used for the rose coin. This coin is just an alloy of gold and copper for color-coding the coin, giving it its rosy color, while a small amount of platinum is added to give it value because it's too small to make it into a coin by itself.

This rose coin is also never used without someone who has the [Metal Appraisal] skill because that's the only reliable way to see the percentage of metal in an alloy, and if you're dealing with rose coins, then you have enough gold to hire an appraiser for the transaction.

The current version of the rose coin is worth seventy gold, but the empire will soon mint a new coin with a higher platinum content to adjust the price. The attendant says the value is going to drop one or two more gold before it stabilizes, so there's little reason for me to hold it.

I tell the attendant that I want to exchange my coin, and he looks at me visibly shocked for a moment. I just hope I don't get accused of stealing from somebody, but considering the price of some of the adventuring equipment, I wouldn't be surprised if an adventurer finds something worth a rose coin or two.

The attendant points me to the end of the line of booths where a few attendants deal with money exchange. There's no queue, so I go there, present my coin, and get the gold counted in front of me, then I take it and leave immediately.

Once I get out, I start to relax a little. The lavish atmosphere was making me uncomfortable.

There's still a few hours until dusk, so I kill some time by browsing through books. I buy three about random hero tales and one about romance. I'm not the romance type, but I feel interested in knowing what is love in this world. I also find a very fluffy pillow, which I'm going to use to sleep from now on.

Then I decide to buy a middle-range set of clothes and a cloak. It's a dark-blue woolen shirt with golden lines running along the sides of the arms, black pants following the same design, black leather shoes, and a fashionable dark-blue velvet cloak. The cloak is a bit stylish. It has a bracelet that fastens its bottom to my arm, so it reaches my waist, then turns to the side, covering only one arm. I've seen a few people using it, so I don't think it's too out of the norm, even if it looks weird to me.

After that, I find a stall selling Dragolite meat on a stick. It tastes like chicken, but there's a strong lingering taste of something that reminds me of a herb. I don't know if it's the seasoning or if that's just its usual taste.

Back at the inn, Selina seems cheerful as usual, but the innkeeper seems to be observing me.

_Shit, I'm not trying to steal your daughter._

He doesn't seem to be cold to me, though.

Then I relax and go to sleep feeling very content with my choice of pillow.

  
  


I have a short nightmare with the Gargling Goblin that wakes me up in the middle of the night, making me feel rather frustrated. After that, I dream of killing goblins, but it isn't another nightmare, it's just a memory of the adrenaline rush of a fight.

  
  


Today, breakfast has a salad with a dash of vinegar that tastes like apple, and this makes me want to look at the Farmer's Market for some fruit or something to make juice. If I buy some, I can just ask at the inn's kitchen to prepare it for me.

After filling my stomach, I put on my new, more fashionable clothes and start walking towards the castle.

Today, I see a few pamphlets advertising the Quizzical Emporium. They have a pretty detailed hand-drawn airship on it. They're going all out on the advertising.

The airship design is that of a horizontal egg, and the top half of the egg is smaller, which creates a deck for people to walk on. At its back, I see what looks like a dozen propellers, so does this mean that this world has a concept of aerodynamics?

I move on and look ahead. After a few minutes of walking down the main road, the castle starts to peek over the roofs of the houses, and I gradually see it in its full glory for the first time. It's made of blue-gray bricks and looks more like a super thick square tower than the usual medieval castle. It starts massively thick and gets smaller the higher it goes, towering twice as tall as every other building and tower in this town, then it ends with a huge flag hung from a pole.

Even at this distance, it's possible to discern the details on the flag. It's the same as the heraldry on the tabard of the guards: a black background with a simple white kite in the middle, which has a golden sword and a rose crossed over it.

It takes a while until I can see the castle entirely since the streets are pretty crowded with crooked multi-story buildings. It only clears once I get on the main brick road that goes to the castle.

The stores around here are of high quality and with a lot of variety. Restaurants, tea shops, bakeries, bookstores, magic shops, magic crafters, smiths, magical smiths, potion sellers, high-class inns, taverns that remind me of modern rustic restaurants, furniture shops, real estate, and the closer you get to the castle, the more perfume shops appear.

I don't resist and buy the cheapest men's perfume I can find. Fifty silver coins. It's damn expensive, but I need something to mask the smell of leather if I'm to enter a high-class establishment.

Finally, I find the slave trader. It's a large white and black building with the words "Golden Necklace" written in gold on a sign above the entrance.

I gather my courage for a moment and get inside.

I think I should've bought even better clothes; the slave trader is as lavish as the bank. It has an incredibly glossy dark floor and golden seams connecting the tiles, while the walls are adorned with dozens of crystal statues of naked humanoids. The building is large, but the lobby is small and filled with doors to other rooms.

An old man with some clothes that are strikingly similar to a suit and tie comes to me. "Welcome, Grand Sir. How may I help you?" He asks as he bows in a right angle.

I still have no idea how formal greetings are done around here, so I just respond, "Good day. I have a letter of recommendation here."

I extend the letter to him, and he delicately takes it. He looks it over but doesn't open it, then he turns to me and gently asks, "Could you follow me? I'll take you to a private room and then take the letter to the Head so he can verify its contents."

"Understood," I say and nod.

He opens one of the nearby doors and leads me inside. The room is rather wide, but there are only two lavish couches and a glass table in the middle of it, making it rather bare. There are no windows, and the illumination is magical, coming from shining jewels embedded in the ceiling, and I see a small vent at one of its corners.

_Seems like they even have ventilation technology here._

The old man motions me to one of the sofas and then leaves.

I awkwardly sit there and wait. After a minute, another door on the other side of the room opens, and a middle-aged man comes out. His face is so manly and gentle that it makes me oddly uncomfortable. He's wearing a lavish a purple silk robe, and a jeweled ring on each of his fingers.

The old butler comes after him, carrying a tray with a tea set and cookies, which makes me a bit excited.

_Are those chocolate cookies?!_

The man sits on the sofa in front of me and does a quick bow. "Welcome to the Golden Necklace. Your name is Mr. Ryder as the letter says, correct?" He asks, his voice is surprisingly deep and stimulating.

"Correct," I answer with a nod.

He shows me a handsome smile and says, "My name is Ghulam Bhatt, and I'm the Head of this establishment. I'm surprised at the contents of the letter given to me. You've made a powerful ally, Mr. Ryder."

He actually makes me blush, for some reason. This man has a perfect tone, the perfect face, and even the perfect body language. If I were a woman, I'd easily fall in love with him.

"H-hello, Mr. Bhatt. I just did what I thought was right," I awkwardly respond.

He nods slowly. "And a reward was given… Now, the letter says you're looking for an adventuring companion, is that right?"

I swallow heavily and steel my nerves. "Yes, I have no real requirements. I only want someone who can help me fight, so show me your best."

"Any preference on gender?"

_That's a dangerous question._

"No…"

He simply nods again. "Then excuse me as I have to leave to collect the best and bring them here. We'll start with the women."

I'm getting a little uncomfortable.

I nod and he leaves, then comes back again in a few minutes with five women following behind him. They're all wearing a loose-fitting and small white silk dress that keeps their legs bare, showing up to half the thighs. It's also open at the sides, and two of the women are so well endowed that the breasts spill through the openings. The dress is so thin that I can even see the form of the nipple. This is way too dangerous and stimulating.

_What am I doing here…?_

When I see the last woman enter, I freeze completely.

_Oh no… this is too much._

A slender body that shows a hint of muscle, a light brown skin, slightly wavy black hair that goes a bit below the shoulder, and a small feminine face.

_That's Lily…_

_No, it's not! It looks like her but it's not!_

_I want to jump and hug her, I want to kiss and make love to her…_

_I miss Lily so much…_

_I want to go home…_

The seller follows my gaze and turns to me. "That one is a mage with knowledge of Blessing and [Dark Magic], and an inkling of knowledge in the rare [Summoning Magic]. If you wish to study exotic magic, she's the one you need. She was also trained in simple [Potion Brewing]. She's not a front line fighter, but she'll be a perfect support for you. Even in bed."

A shiver runs along my spine.

"Please remove her," I say in a flat tone, holding back my emotions.

The seller gets taken aback, but he nods to the old man, who guides her away.

"Was she not satisfactory?" Ghulam asks.

I clench my fist and lock-up again the emotions that were about to burst out. "It's not that… she just reminds me too much of someone."

"I see…" He whispers in a soothing tone, then he starts describing each woman.

The first is a raven-type demon race woman. She's tall and well-endowed. She has pure black skin, straight white hair that touches the shoulders, pure red eyes, and she can materialize a huge blade that comes out of the back of her hand. She can even fly by summoning bird wings. She specializes in spear fighting, and has [Wind Magic] that supports her flight. She allows to be used as a sex slave.

_Oof, scary. I'm just going to ignore her for now._

Second is a dwarf woman. She looks like a short teenager. She has a bowl cut, black hair, and a round, funny nose that makes her look rather adorable. She uses the traditional dwarven shield and hammer combo, and she transforms mana to "Strength" through a racial skill, otherwise, there's no way those thin arms would lift a tower shield. She has [Earth Magic] and [Light Magic] for healing, so she's rather self-sufficient and lasts long in a fight.

The third is a human woman. She's well-endowed, and her face looks mean but sexy at the same time, enhanced by her short boyish black hair. She's tall and strong, and can hold her own against a knight. She used to be an adventurer and her body shows plenty of scars as evidence of her experience.

The fourth is a human girl. She's average looking, but has pretty brown hair. She excels in Water, Fire, and [Wind Magic], but only that, so she's basically a glass cannon. I'm slightly interested in her since she has such a large magic repertoire.

Then the women go away, and he brings three men.

First is a large dragonkin. A tall and rather ugly man with short brown hair. He has dragon wings that he can use to fly for a short amount of time, and small patches of sharp scales protruding from the side of his arms and legs. These scales can act as armor and can even be used as weapons since the edges are sharpened. His specialty is that he can breathe a sand storm and blind his opponents. He' experienced with all sorts of melee weapons. Truly the greatest warrior of this establishment.

Second is a dwarf man. He looks the same age as me despite his real age being double of mine. His skills are similar to the dwarf woman, but he can't use [Light Magic]. He may lack the healing magic, but his experience as an adventurer is his advantage.

Third and final is a human man. He has a boring face and no hair. He specializes in [Blessing Magic] and [Light Magic], knows a little bit of [Wind Magic], and has some training in sword and shield. He allows to be used as a sex slave, even for other men.

_Oh, boy…_

I blink repeatedly to clear my mind from the weird thoughts.

All of their contracts are for either one or two decades, which is perfectly acceptable to me.

_So, who is the best: the girl mage, or the dragonkin? The dwarf woman is also attractive because of the healing magic. With the amount of money I have, I can buy more than one, but can I really take care of more than one person for now?_

I think hard and thoroughly, but I don't think that I should make a decision right now.

Seeing my indecisiveness, Ghulam asks, "Mr. Ryder, can I suggest you wait two days until you make a decision? I have a new shipment coming, and there are two great jewels there, even better than the ones here."

I'm surprised. Who could be better than the dragonkin and the genius magician?

"What about these ones, aren't they going to sell in the meantime?" I ask.

He gracefully shakes his head and answers, "I can hold them until the shipment arrives, and you have priority because of your recommendation. Also, these are my jewels, and slaves of this quality normally take a few months to sell. It's unlikely anyone capable of buying them is going to come so soon."

I see no reason not to wait, and I'm going to relax for a few days, anyway.

"Alright, I'll wait," I respond.

I want to come back and eat these cookies again. The brown one isn't made of chocolate, but it's still a delicious mix of vanilla with a fragrant fruit that goes perfectly with the tea. The tea seems to be a mix of ginger and cloves, and it tastes really good.

  
  


I leave the Golden Necklace and waste time until noon, window shopping at the main street, then I change back to my normal clothes and go to the hunters guild for training.

"So, you're still alive?" Toga asks, mildly surprised.

_Not even a greeting, just a mean gaze and straight words._

"Uh, were you expecting the contrary?" I ask worriedly.

He casually nods and answers, "You didn't come back for more training. That usually means you recklessly went into a dungeon and got yourself killed."

I chuckle self-deprecatingly. "Wow, that's not far from the truth, but I played it safe and went to Royd's Kerfuffle."

He purses his lips reprovingly. "Even that was dangerous. Did you hear an Orc Headhunter was found at the sixth level? That could've been you."

_So, this means you care about me, Toga? Awn, I'm touched._

I smile wryly and respond, "Well… t-that was me. I fought the Orc Headhunter with three other people."

Toga doesn't even twitch, he just stares at me, judging my words, then he looks at one of the guys at the bench, the same on that healed me after the last beating I got.

"Harper! Who was the guy that killed the Orc Headhunter?!" Toga yells.

"I think it was some Wolf Ryder!" Harper yells back.

Toga slowly turns his head towards me in a perfectly creepy movement, then he stares at me even harder, as if his eyes could pierce my soul, and I see a small smile forming on his mouth.

"So, Mr. Slayer, are you here for more training?" He asks, his voice sounding even more threatening than before.

I avoid his gaze and tense up. "Y-yes… I would like to spar again," I answer meekly.

He immediately throws me a wooden sword. "Pull up your guard!"

And then he beats me again, even harder this time.

The other students and teachers start cheering me, encouraging me to not give up, crying in joy every time I managed to block, and flinching with every blow I receive. I think some are even betting, but I can't pay any more attention to them because my life and dignity are on the line.

This time, Toga doesn't just beat me, he turns it into a marathon of a beating. He wears me down and then lets me rest with the perfect balancing, making me last the whole afternoon, ending only when I can barely stand anymore. The beating is so bad that my shirt gets even bloodied.

Toga suddenly stops and lowers his sword. "That's enough. Today was a productive day, I'm pleased with the results," he says, and I swear his voice is tinged with sadism.

_More like pleased in seeing me suffer._

"Thank you… for the session." Those are all the words I can say until I'm fully healed, and it takes two instructors to heal me to full.

  
  


I get back to the inn, and Selina greets me.

"Welcome back, Mr. Ryder, did you fight something fearsome again today?" She asks innocently.

"Just a bloodthirsty instructor," I answer with a wry smile.

She raises her eyebrows in surprise, then immediately grins. "Ah! I-I'm sorry…" She understands the joke, then hides her mouth with her hand and starts giggling.

I shake my head tiredly. "Don't be, it's training… it's a life I chose."

"Thank you for your effort." She bows and walks away while smiling.

When I get back to the bed, I take a look at my stats. My "Endurance" and "Willpower" increased by 1, while [Block], [Parry], and [Dodge] increased by 3, which is rather impressive. Though I guess I just didn't have much of a chance to use my sword for attack during this beating.

Then I remembered that there's a skill called [Shield Use], so why didn't I learn it, already? Is this an offensive skill like [Sword Use]? Do I need to attach a blade and kill something with it so it doesn't count as [Shield Bash]?

_Whatever. If it isn't increasing, then I'll just ignore it for now until I learn more about skills._

This is my progress so far:

Info  
  
---  
Name: |  Wolf Ryder | Age: | 16 | Race: |  Human   
HP: | 100 | MP: | 135 | Magic Power: |  190  
Level: | 10 | Experience: | 189/1500  
  
Stats  
  
Strength: | 8 | Endurance: | 9 | Dexterity: | 9  
Speed: |  10 | Intelligence: | 20 | Wisdom: | 15  
Willpower: |  13 | Charisma: | 10 | Piety: | 3  
Perception: | 15 | Sanity: | 8  
  
Other  
  
Status Effects: | NONE | Titles: | NONE  
Affiliations: |  NONE   
Companions: |  NONE  
Crimes: |  NONE  
  
Wolf Ryder Skill Report  
  
---  
  
Physical  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Sword Use | 9+2 | Dodge  | 3+4 | Parry | 3+4  
Block | 3+4 | Shield Bash | 0+1  
  
Magical  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Mana Efficiency | 4+0 |  Mana Recovery | 4+0 |  Reduced Mana Cost | 4+0  
Fire Magic | 1+0 |  Nature Magic | 5+0 |  Blessing Magic  | 5+0  
  
Miscellaneous  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Andraste Language | 10+0  
OBS: Level means (free point)+(trained point)  
  
After that, I go to sleep, and I have a few confusing dreams about fighting, so I don't sleep very well.

  
  


Today, my body is way too sore for training, and it hurts to even walk around.

Since I don't have much to do, I wanted to talk to Selina, but she's way too busy this time. Our relationship is kind of awkward. It's not like we're real friends, and I can't call her any time I want. Also, we only talk during mealtime, and I don't even know where she goes outside of that.

Since I don't know what to do, I eat my breakfast and spend the morning in bed, dozing on and off until it's almost time for lunch, then I get the energy to walk around and search for some exotic food.

I find a place with a super spicy Dragolite soup, and it has a hint of curry in it. The problem is, it's hotter than Satan's butthole, so it takes me some effort to eat it, but I do it. I'm not weak to spicy food, so I wonder what the hell was the cook thinking when he made this.

Then I decide to go to the hunters guild to train magic. People should already know I have Fire and [Electric Magic], so I'm just going to train my mana pool.

I tell the manager that I'm going to train with [ _Fireball_ ], and he gives me the ok, so I go to the furthest corner of the magic training area. Over here, people won't notice that I don't chant, and also I can stay far away from Toga's sadistic gaze.

I observe the other mages use [ _Fireball_ ], and I notice that a small one can chanted nearly instantly. I think about putting points in [Mana Control] so I can change the size of the [ _Fireball_ ], but I don't think it'd be necessary to go to this level of deceit.

I put all my points into combat skills and start casting [ _Fireball_ ] until my mana is exhausted. I can only cast it twelve times until my MP is gone, then I put all my points in [Mana Recovery] and meditate until I'm back to full. I try casting it thirteen times, but I nearly faint from mana overuse, and due to embarrassment, I decide to not do it again.

I read in the dungeoneering tips book that powerful mages with lots of mana that get their MP too low or use it up too fast can suffer from loss of senses, painful headaches, and sore muscles. This happens because of the large amount of mana leaving your body hurts the soul, or something like that, so it affects people with large mana pools more often. This is called "mana overuse," and the skill [Mana Overuse Resistance] counters it, but it's really hard to get it. The book advises that mages should exhaust their mana every day until they develop this skill, but it doesn't seem like a lot of people follow this advice, though.

After someone uses all their mana, their MP goes into the negative if they continue casting magic, but this means that they use part of their soul as a source of power. This damages their HP, and normally leads to unconsciousness, but there's the [Blackout Resistance] skill that counters that. The biggest advantage of this skill is that for a backline caster that should always have full health, being able to trade their HP for MP is huge. It just isn't recommended to be used often because it reduces someone's lifespan. Also, it's necessary to first deal with the feedback from overuse before blackout becomes relevant, so it's a skill that's even more difficult to learn.

If I keep practicing my magic like this every day, then maybe I could learn it in a year, but it'll take a lot of diligence.

I quickly realize that this sort of training is really taxing mentally. My head starts to hurt when I'm low on mana, and it takes quite some effort for me to concentrate on meditating, but I manage to keep training until it's almost dusk, then I go back to the inn.

_I'm starving._

It seems that using mana makes you more hungry than normal as I have to ask for a second serving of the already generous meal the inn gives.

"What's gotten you so hungry?" Selina asks as she puts down the plate for me.

"It seems training magic makes you super hungry," I answer and dig in.

She sits down and coos in wonder. "O~h? You can use magic, too? That's amazing. What spells can you cast?"

I swallow hurriedly and respond, "Oh… i-it's nothing. Just a small [ _Fireball_ ] and support spells for myself, like [ _Regeneration_ ] and [ _Wind Armor_ ]."

She giggles cutely. "'Nothing'? You're quite humble. A magician who knows the sword is such a romantic way of fighting."

I stop eating and frown in confusion. "Uh… what do you mean by 'romantic'?"

She rests her chin on her hand and starts talking excitedly, "Most stories of heroes are about people like you: melee fighters with a trump card in magic. They live dangerous and exciting adventures that give them the wisdom to push their powers to the limit.

"My favorite is about a mage whose entire strategy revolved around finding the chance to cast a single [ _Shocking Touch_ ] on the eyes of his enemies. His way of fighting was all or nothing, and he bet it all on that spell when he fought a dragon. A huge, dangerous, and feared monster being brought down with a single, simple spell. He was so witty he convinced the dragon into getting close, even though it knew what the adventurer was capable of. I got chills when I read that book."

_Is this what a normal girl of this world thinks about or are you just special?_

"Indeed, it sounds like a poetic fight," I answer and chuckle.

Selina gives me a smile that melts my heart and continues telling her stories.

But then I remember Lily…

_It's hard to admit this, but I believe I'll have to stay in this world for a long, long time. My growth is slow, transmigration is something unknown to the natives, and I have absolutely zero idea why I'm here. I don't even have a mentor figure to guide me and then get killed in the middle of the story to give me an impetus to fight._

_I'm stuck here. And if "God's" message wasn't a lie, then it's for the rest of my life._

_What happened on Earth? Did time stop? Are they looking for me? Are they even still alive?_

_I know that Lily wouldn't wait for me, and I shouldn't wait, too. We aren't idealists who believe in the existence of "true love," we're bitter realists who just found happiness with each other. We wouldn't want the other to spend who knows how long waiting for me to return. We love each other to the point we'd want the other to find happiness, even if it isn't together. We're just_ that _pragmatic._

_I can't just do this all by myself forever. I need someone to rely on… but I'm too scared to get close to anyone._

I drop on my bed and sigh, then I curl up into a ball.

_It's not even a month and I'm already breaking down, but to be fair, in just a few days I've already gone through enough of life and death situations to last an entire lifetime on Earth._

_I need to think only about myself, otherwise, I don't think I'll last long. This world will have no mercy for someone delicate like me. I need to change, but I don't want to._

Silent tears run along my cheeks and I cry myself to sleep.

  
  


I have a nightmare of the Headhunter staring at me with his beady little eyes. It does nothing and just stares at me, like an ever-present threat.

  
  


Today, I wake up with my body feeling better, but I'm still not good enough to be beaten into a pulp again. My "Strength" didn't increase, too, so I think I should start a muscle training regimen. I can just do some quick exercises before bath like I did on Earth, but I need something to replace dumbbells.

I look at my MP and see it increased by 30 (now 165). That's a nice amount. I can certainly cast [ _Fireball_ ] one more time now. No "Magic Power" increase though, so I wonder what's needed for that.

Breakfast is bean salad with not-corn crumbs and a leg of Rabid Rabbit. Honestly, the cuisine around here is not bad, but I just really miss rice.

Now, what do I do today? I'm not really in the mood for exploring the town since my head is still heavy with the thoughts from last night.

I feel like I've mentally cornered myself. I'm stuck in a dilemma caused by two conflicting parts of my beliefs. Any decision I make will end up hurting a part of me, so how should I even start to make this choice? It's easy to find the logical path to follow, but it's hard to actually go through with it.

I try to pick up the romance book to read, but I can't concentrate, so I just absentmindedly turn around the pages without absorbing anything.

  
  


After wasting my morning, I just pick a random stall and eat lunch on the street. I barely even pay attention to what I'm eating, I just know that it's bland.

After that, I decide to hurt myself and go to the training ground to increase my MP again.

This time, Toga doesn't stare so much at me. He seems satisfied with the amount of pain I'm giving to myself.

Besides forgoing shame and losing my senses five times from overuse, nothing really happens, and I just robotically repeat my training sequence with [ _Fireball_ ] followed by [Mana Recovery]-enhanced meditation. It gives me a bit of a headache, though.

After dusk, I come back and absentmindedly eat my dinner. Selina isn't serving today and I don't ask why.

I go to sleep with my mood worse than when I woke up.

  
  


I dream of the Gargling Goblin again. This time, I tell him to fuck off, but it doesn't help, and I wake up in the middle of the night sweating cold.

  
  


Selina wakes me up and immediately look at my MP. It increased by 50 (now 215). It's quite a large amount, so I believe I did well on yesterday's training.

Now, it's finally the day to buy a slave. I anxiously eat my breakfast, then I go to the Golden Necklace.

_I don't even know what I want from it anymore…_

The same butler-like old man greets me with a bow as he says, "Welcome again, Grand Sir. Would you like to go to the meeting room immediately? I'll call the Head; the new shipment is ready for inspection."

"Sure, please do."

I enter the room and remember the heavenly cookies and tea. My sweet-tooth aching takes some of the edge off.

The not-butler comes a few seconds later with a tray of cookies and tea, then leaves me alone to devour them. There's double the amount than the other day.

_Did he notice I liked them?_

Ghulam comes in a does a quick bow. "Welcome again to the Golden Necklace, Mr. Ryder. I'm glad you waited. I'm sure that you'll be pleased with the new shipment, they're astounding."

He sits and claps his hand, then the not-butler opens the door.

Two women come in, two beautiful women. I suck in a breath and freeze.

_Astounding indeed._

The first is a fox girl. She has light brown, almost orange hair styled in a cute bob cut, a diamond-shaped jaw, thin lips, a small nose, round orange eyes, and pointy orange fox ears on top of her head. Such an incredibly cute face.

When she walks, I see an orange fox tail dangling about, and it even has a white tip. It looks so soft I want to hug it.

The second is an elven girl. She has silver straight hair that's so glossy it almost shines, an adorably short stature, skin as white as snow, an oval face, upturned blue eyes that look almost Asian, a small and pointy nose, small red lips, and the unmistakable long pointy ears of the elves protruding at a right angle from her head.

That's honestly not what I thought he meant when he said the new slaves would be even better than the previous ones. I imagined a bigger monster than the dragonkin would appear, or something like that. And judging my current state, I don't think I should be in this room with these two girls.

Ghulam smiles at me with grace, making it hard to look away from him as he says, "These are my two new prizes. The werefox is Alissa. She's an offering from an exclusive deal Rabanara has with the Misty Low Forest. They raise and train a slave every three years, then sell it to us. It took me a lot of luck, but I managed to acquire her.

"She has been taught since she was a child that her destiny is to be a combat slave, and due to her beauty, she has also been trained on how to serve a man. She's the most skilled archer and hunter of her clan, and you won't find someone better than her outside of a Lord's retinue. Her 'Speed' and 'Dexterity' are very high, which gives her pinpoint accuracy and high lethality. Her olfact and hearing are extremely sharp, and she even has the rare [Sense Presence], making her the perfect scout. She was also trained in the traditional lifestyle magic so she's ready to live even among the nobility.

"The other one is called Silvane. She's the daughter of a fallen noble from the elven lands of Elaria, so she has no relation to the elves on this side of the continent. Her father, mother, and brother were executed as punishment for failing to fulfill their duties as nobles, so she hopes in finding a master who achieves heroic feats to regain her honor, and perhaps even her noble status. Like all nobility, she was trained in serving men and women, and how to care and manage a house or a business.

"Her skills are in [Light Magic], [Blessing Magic], [Wind Magic], [Nature Magic], [Earth Magic] and [Fire Magic]. She has an amazing mana pool since she was training to help her family in managing the dungeons on their territory. She's guaranteed to become an amazing magician in the future, if you train her right.

"Both accept being sex slaves, and they're virgins. They also have contracts for life," he adds, his tone is deep and husky, calling forth feelings I'm not proud of having.

_Oh, boy._

I need to leave this place. I'm not in the right mindset to make a rational decision right now. Only one of the women talked about being a "sex slave," so I didn't even think of this, but now, seeing these girls who are ready (and willing?), my body aches for comfort. This craving fights against my fragmented will and my guilt from my love for Lily.

_What am I supposed to do? Wait, there's a way out! They must cost an exorbitant amount, there's no way I can buy them, right?_

"W-What's the cost? They must be t-too expensive for me," I ask, barely containing my anxiety.

Ghulam whispers honeyed words to me, "With the discount from your recommendation, sixty gold for the elf, seventy for the werefox."

_NO!_

He laughs gently and adds, "There's no rush. If you want to talk or observe them closer it's allowed. Such an investment shouldn't be done hastily." Then he grins.

He noticed how I'm desperately holding myself. He trapped me here, and there's no way I'm leaving without buying one of them now.

I force my self to breath deeply, managing to calm down a little.

_I'm weak… I'm sorry, Lily… but I'm far too weak. Being alone in this world hurts too much, and I'm far too scared that I'll die to pass on the chance of some happiness._

_There's a devil disguising as a man who's tempting me. He threw two wonderful women in front of me and said: "Here! Pick one, grab her, fuck her, make her yours. She will be your thing, your toy, forever. No strings attached, no messy relationships, no love dynamics, no anxiety from rejection, she's your perfect woman. Even the fucking gods tell you it's okay to do it, now fucking choose!"_

_I'm sorry Lily… I'm a bad man. I'm sorry you fell in love with me, and it's okay to not wait for me. I'll do what I want in this fucking world because there's no one fucking else that'll help me. I was abandoned here without care, so I'll abandon whatever is holding me back from my previous world. This world will be_ mine… _wait no, too far._

"I'll take Alissa."


	5. A Companion’s Promise

"Now, please cut your hand with this knife and fill this with your blood," Ghulam asks, then he gives me an adorned dagger and a small bowl. "If you can't do it yourself it's not a problem, Sebastian will do it for you and immediately heal you."

_Nah._

I cut my hand.

_FUCK! IT HURTS!_

My face cramps, but I manage to retain my dignity and hold back the tears of pain.

I fill the small bowl with my blood, then Sebastian chants something and touches my hand. A faint pleasing cold covers my wound as the pain stops, then he releases me, and it looks goods as new.

_Is this a thing that all butlers must be called Sebastian?_

The old man Sebastian gives the bowl to Alissa, then she immediately brings it to her lips and drinks my blood while Ghulam chants something.

"[ _Contract of Servitude_ ]," he whispers and touches Alissa's head. "Now, point the location where you want the symbol of slavery to appear. It'll be a small circle with your name on it, but If you don't want to show your name I'll hide it."

"It's okay to show. Put it on her left wrist," I respond.

She's right-handed, so it shouldn't show too much.

Ghulam gently grabs her wrist and chants. "[ _Mark of the Master_ ]," he casts, and a faint light shines from between his fingers.

He releases her and shows to me that a small black circle has appeared, and I read "Wolf Ryder" written in Andraste with small letters. Around the black circle, there are a few letters from an alphabet I don't recognize.

"Now, do you want any additional spell? For you, it's for free," Ghulam offers with a gentle smile.

"Only the speech limitation."

He touches Alissa's throat and starts chanting again. "[ _Tongue of Obedience_ ]," he casts, then a small orb of light comes out of the tip of his finger and enters her throat.

He smiles graciously and turns to me. "There, now she won't be able to tell others about anything you consider a secret. Anything else?"

I smile back. "No, thank you."

He gently nods and says, "Then it's done. I really appreciate doing business with you, Mr. Ryder. Though the letter only allowed for a discount this one time, I'll gladly do business with you again." His charming smile now seems like the devil's.

"I'll certainly come back," I happily admit. I've crossed the point of no return, so there's no reason to say no anymore.

He makes a signal with his hand, and Sebastian comes forward. "Here's the gift we give to anyone who buys one of our women." -The butler hands me a ring- "It's a Ring of Fertility. Put some magic into it, and the man or woman that wears it won't be able to impregnate or get pregnant." Ghulam smiles kindly, his words cause a chill to run down my spine.

He stands up and nods respectfully, then Sebastian picks up the documents I signed and the gold, then they both leave me alone with Alissa.

"Master, may I change to my other clothes now?" Alissa respectfully asks and looks at me with a neutral expression. Her voice has the perfect pitch to my ears, not too high, not too low.

"Y-yes, please do," I respond awkwardly.

She immediately pulls up her one-piece, and she's not wearing anything below.

_GAH! Too much stimulation._

Even though I want to see, I'm not in the right state of mind to stare at her.

She changes into the normal clothes Ghulam gave to her: a white and slightly loose shirt, black pants, and some cute looking black shoes. I could only stare at her feet, and god, even they are cute.

"I'm ready now," she says in a low tone.

"Then let's go."

We silently make our way towards the inn, and she walks slightly behind me, but still pretty close. She maintains a neutral expression, but at least she doesn't look sad.

I don't know what to say. Am I supposed to make a conversation? I guess not since I'm her master now, so I don't need to be her friend, but it'll be lonely if I'm not friendly. I guess there's no need to rush or force anything, we'll get used to each other with time.

We get to the inn, and I talk to the innkeeper.

"I'd like to change rooms. I need one for two people, now," I request.

"Single bed or double bed?" He asks, then he glances at Alissa and fails in containing his smile.

_Please, stop. I'm already embarrassed enough._

"Double," I respond nervously.

He nods gently and hands me two keys. "Second room on the second floor. Remove all your things from the safe, then return the key to me, please."

"I don't have anything in it, so here's the key."

After that, I immediately go towards my new room.

It's almost mid-day, and I'm starting to feel hungry, but I want to talk to Alissa in private first.

We enter the room, and I just fall face-first onto the bed. My nerves are killing me.

_What did I just do…? I'm a slave master, now…_

I turn around and look at her. She's just standing there, looking at me with her calm and neutral expression. I guess she isn't going to do anything unless ordered.

I clear my throat and say, "We're going to be living here… and we'll be sharing the same bed. You can come, sit, or lay down if you want. I don't want you to tire yourself by standing all the time."

She nods respectfully and obediently responds, "Yes, thank you, Master." I notice that her tail is standing still.

I pat the bed. "Then come and sit beside me."

"Y-yes."

_What was that?_

She has been calm and collected so far, but that voice just now wasn't congruent with her expression. Is she a master of poker face?

She sits beside me in a lady-like way and starts observing the room.

I sit up and gently grab her hand, making her twitch in reaction, then she looks at me curiously.

_I knew it, she's tense and scared, but she looks so cute I feel like teasing her. Oh god, my shyness already went away, and the sadist is coming out._

"Well then, what have you heard about me?" I politely ask as I enjoy the softness and warmth of her hand.

She obediently responds, "Seigneur Ghulam said that you're a powerful and upcoming adventurer. You've gained the favor of someone with influence after saving them and showing your valor. Now you're in need of a companion for fighting, and that's likely why you bought me. I'm sorry, but he didn't say more than this."

_Nour, please, that's too much._

I release her hand and massage my neck awkwardly as I say, "There's… no need to be sorry." -I shake my head in tiredness- "Well, then. The first thing I want to talk about is that I have a lot of secrets. That's why I bought a Blood Slave: I need a companion that can keep a secret."

She turns her body to face me, and her orange eyes stare onto mine with her full attention. "Then there's no need to worry about it, Master. Please use the [ _Tongue of Obedience_ ] as you wish, and your secrets will be safe even during torture."

"No, no, no, no" -I look away for a moment as I cringe slightly- "There's no need to go that far. My secrets are just things that will attract attention, and I don't want it, at least for now."

_Those were dangerous words, Alissa. Nobody is going to get hurt because of me._

"I see… I think I understand." She looks away and puts a finger on her chin. _Cute._ "Master is powerful, and other people might want to try to use you or interfere with your business, so you want to hide this power. Is that right, Master?"

I smile at her cute expression and nod. "That's right, it's like that. Now, we aren't leaving the town for two days. Today, I want to buy your equipment, and tomorrow, I want you to train at the hunters' guild to get used to it. If I'm lazy, we'll rest for a third day, and then on the fourth, we'll work again."

"I'm alright with whatever you wish, Master." She smiles back.

_Oh, god, that's even cuter, please stop._

"Also… there's something I'm dying to do… can I touch your ears and tail?" I childishly ask her with puppy eyes.

She stiffens, making her fox ears perk up, then smiles shyly. "Y-you don't have to ask… but please be gentle, they're sensitive." She blushes and lowers her head for me.

Her fox ears are on the top of her head, and she doesn't have human ones. It looks weird if you pull back the hair, so I guess that short hairstyles aren't really a thing with wereanimals.

I rub her ears and I get filled with bliss. They are made of a very soft cartilage, and along with its furry parts, they're very comfy to touch.

Her hair makes even me envious. It's so soft to the touch and glossy. It flows perfectly when she tilts her head just slightly.

After getting enough of her ears, I tell her to turn around so that I can play with her tail. I notice that it has vertebrae, so she can move and wag it the same way a dog can, and its fur is even fluffier than that of her ears.

_I want to hug it! Animal ears, animal tail, kemonomimi! This is really a Japanese game._

"A-ah… Master. Gentler, please," she whispers.

"Sorry, does it hurt?"

"No, it's just sensitive, and it tickles a lot," she responds while squirming.

Thank god it isn't an erogenous zone… Wait… some people also do erotic things with places like the armpits or earlobes. Just because it isn't immediately erotic, doesn't mean it can't _become_ erotic.

I stop playing with her tail and say, "I'll get you a very good brush. We need to keep this tail and your hair as beautiful as possible."

She nods respectfully and shows a small smile. "Thank you, Master. I'll take good care of them."

I hug her from behind and pat her head. She freezes, then gradually relaxes, melting in my arms.

"I'd also like to help care for it myself. It feels good to touch," I whisper in her ear.

I used to brush Lily's hair once in a while. I liked to help keep her pretty for me.

I keep patting her head and ears for some time, and it seems to help us a lot in calming our nerves. I also can't deny that it feels good to hug a girl like this.

Her perfume has a faint fruity scent that feels slightly nostalgic, and my heart tightens as I try to grasp onto this nostalgic feeling.

_I have to buy her more perfume._

After a few long and comfy minutes, I stop the patting and release her, then she almost falls down on her own. She must've gotten sleepy.

"Nah?" She lets out a small sound in surprise.

_Stop with the cuteness._

"Let's go out and eat lunch," I gently suggest, and she nods silently while blushing.

I find a nearby restaurant and ask for a table for two. I sit down, but she remains standing by my side.

"Please, sit," I motion. "We'll eat meals together from now on."

_This must be standard slave behavior that I need to nip in the bud._

She blinks in surprise for a moment and asks, "Is it alright, Master? I'm a slave, so I don't need to be treated equally."

I purse my lips and respond sternly, "Well, I want a companion that I can trust, not just a slave to order around, so I'll treat you equally."

She stares at me for a moment, then nods and smiles gently. "Thank you, Master. You're very kind." As she sits, I see her tail sway a little.

_Being called "Master" is making me feel uncomfortable, but it also tickles a part of me that I didn't acknowledge before. Is it alright to let it come out of the dark?_

_Bah, screw it. I already said before that I'd abandon things that were holding me back._

I don't want to deal with her choosing a simple meal because she's a slave, so I order the same for both of us, but when the meal comes she hesitates.

"You also don't have to wait for me to start eating," I promptly say.

And so we dig in.

After our meal, we go out and talk as we walk.

I start counting with my fingers as I enumerate what we need to do, "First, let's buy you a pillow, some proper blankets, spare change of clothes, a hairbrush, a toothbrush, and spare shoes. We'll go to a first-hand store because I don't want to see you use hand-me-downs."

She seems slightly concerned with the amount of stuff we have to buy and frowns as she questions, "Is it really alright to treat me like this, Master? I'm a slave, and I'm trained to have strong endurance, so treating me softly might… negate this training."

I can't resist and entwine my arm with hers because I'm starved for skinship, then I pat her hand as I answer earnestly, "Yes. I'm sorry if your training ends up wasted or dulled, but we'll lead similar lifestyles, so I don't need you to retain your 'endurance'… Think of it like this: giving you hardships makes you tire more easily, which means you're more likely to die in battle. If you die, I'll be wasting the money, the huge favor I used to buy you, my feelings will be hurt by losing you, and my time training you will be wasted. So, this is why we need to keep you happy and well-rested: You need to be always at your best performance so you don't die or disappoint me.

"I'll give you two rules: the first one is 'don't die' because I don't want you sacrificing yourself for me; the second one is 'let's never get into a situation where someone needs to die' so you won't even have to think about sacrificing yourself for me if we don't even get in a situation that needs it. Now, do you understand your value to me?"

She turns her face away and reflects on my words seriously.

We continue walking in silence for a minute, then she turns to face me again and nods energetically. "Thank you, Master. I understand," she finally responds with determination.

 _Did that make you emotional? Well, I don't think that my philosophy makes me a "good person" because I still_ bought _you… and I'm going to abuse you tonight. Might be even earlier if you don't stop acting cute._

After getting the essentials, I decide to buy her a simple but cute white, frilly dress. I'd like to buy her more, but money is short, and I need to buy her equipment.

I thank the God of Luck because I find a cheap perfume that I can give to her. Later on, I'll definitely get her a more expensive one like mine.

_Damn, I feel like I want to dress her up like a doll the same way I used to do with Lily._

This time, I grit my teeth and don't buy a high-quality sleeping bag, but we buy a larger one for both of us.

Then I get her Young Ogre leather armor. It's a red-brown color, it's tougher than Hobgoblin leather, and it's also very flexible, which is good for an archer.

We get her a cheap iron short sword as a personal defense weapon, then we buy a good composite bow because it's compact and deadly. On the matter of bows, we can't hold back because archery is her main way of killing.

Warbows or longbows are a bit difficult for her to use. Sure, the penetration is unparalleled, but she has problems fully drawing them. She isn't a standard army archer that fights at long distances and whose job is to cover an area with arrows. She's a hunter, which means she needs to draw fast and accurately, so penetration isn't _that_ important.

I sell my old equipment, but it's pretty shitty, so we don't get much money in return. I buy an upgrade to my shield: a black heater iron shield. It's slightly bigger and of a higher quality iron than the previous one.

My previous shield has three dents and a nasty scratch from the fight with the Orc Headhunter, so we'd need to spend money to repair it, anyway. The damage makes the smith curious, so I tell him how that happened, and he gives me a small discount in sympathy.

Alissa's [ _Item Box_ ] isn't big, so she only keeps her arrows there and some small personal items, like the toothbrush and hairbrush.

Now that we bought what we need, we go back to the inn, then I reserve a room for us to take a bath, together.

We enter the room, and I lock the door behind me. The reserved bath is rather small, and it only has a simple wooden bathtub for a maximum of three people.

"I'll wash you, Master," she volunteers, but I see that her tail is stiff.

She starts taking her clothes off, and I just stare at her. No man should ever look away when a woman undresses.

Her nakedness is instantly arousing. Her body is very athletic, and she's slightly more muscular than me. Her breasts are a bit small, but I don't know the size. Perhaps it's C? I just know they're perky and cute, and they'll fit nicely in my hand. Her bush is actually orange, and I see that it's well kept.

She comes to me and her steps become awkward once she notices my stare.

She grabs my shirt and pulls it up, then she unfastens both my belts and pulls down my pants. She hesitates for a moment, then leaves my sword on the ground and undoes my shoes.

"You don't really have to do it like this, I can undress myself," I say, slightly amused, but also feeling a bit awkward.

"I want to do it, Master," she diligently responds.

_Oh, boy, don't say things like that. I'm already excited._

Then she pulls down my underwear. She's crouching, so it's right in front of her face in its full glory. She stares at it for a few seconds then gets up.

She leads me near the tub and grabs a bucket of water, then she makes me sit on a stool and starts to wash my body with the soap and sponge the receptionist gave us.

Her hands are delicate and she moves with certainty, eliciting a faint groan of pleasure from me as I close my eyes and enjoy it. She certainly knows how to wash.

She washes my face with such delicacy that it's almost like she's just gently patting it, but I can still feel it's effective at cleaning my body. This is heavenly.

Then she washes my front. There's no way around it, she has to come in front of me, and she touches my dick.

"E-excuse me, p-please tell me if it hurts," she stutters, her voice trembling from the nervousness.

She pulls back the skin and rubs the sponge on the head with even more delicacy than my face. It's so stimulating I have to control myself from pouncing on her. I imagine her tightening her grip and giving me a handjob, and my dick twitches in her hands.

Suddenly, it finishes, and now she's done washing me.

"Now it's my turn," I say with a husky tone.

She swallows heavily. "You don't need to concern yourself with me."

"But I'll enjoy it." I smile mischievously.

She immediately nods, and we switch places.

"Sorry if I'm not as delicate as you, I'm not trained in washing others," I wryly inform her.

"No need to apologize for it, Master. You're allowed to enjoy yourself," she replies earnestly.

_Ohohoh! Then don't mind if I do!_

Her skin is soft, and there's absolutely no hair on her arms and legs, so my hand just glides along her perfect skin. I can feel the hint of muscle in her athletic body as my fingers trace her abs. It's a mix of toughness and softness.

Seriously, what is going on in this world? Nearly every person I've seen can be considered beautiful. It's just… "weird."

Now, look at her. Her skin is so perfect it makes me worried. Where are her veins? Does she even have veins? It's like she's artificial, and it's unsettling me.

She tilts her head adorably and innocently asks, "Something wrong, Master?"

I wipe away the stupid thoughts, then I smile mischievously. "Nothing… it's just that your skin is too perfect."

"Don't exaggerate like this, Master…" Her voice seems a little sad, but her tail twitches.

"I'm not exaggerating, but whatever…." I shrug and continue washing her.

As I slowly caress her skin, I leave her tail and ears alone. I don't know how to wash them, I'm sorry, Alissa. But I take special care of her hands and feet. They're just so small and cute.

Then I start working on the best part that I left for last. Her breasts are soft and bouncy, a delight to my hands. Lily had small ones, so I don't know what bigger breasts are supposed to feel like. I guess this is like jelly? I can't describe them perfectly, but I sure can enjoy them. Flat is justice, anyway, so size doesn't matter.

I work on her nipples, and I feel them poke against my palm, showing me that she's aroused. I just rub them gently, avoiding pinching them, for now, then her breath starts to get heavier.

_Good…_

I pull her closer, hugging her from behind.

She feels so warm, and I realize how much I've been missing this feeling. I want her to hug me, to make _me_ feel safe… No, that'll come later. Right now, I need to show her my sensual touch.

My hand glides downwards, reaching her neat little bush, and I start to play with it. It feels good on my hand since the hair is a little thicker there.

I don't want to waste any more time, so I pass my hand over her entrance, and her breath immediately becomes haggard.

Her pussy lips are small and slightly wet, so I just delicately rub them until they start to feel warmer, then I penetrate her with my finger. She flinches backward, and I pinch her nipple at the same time.

"Ahn…!" She lets out a cute little moan. This is a holy sound that men hear when the gates of heaven open, and I shall never forget how hers sounds.

I slowly move my finger in and out, and I feel her legs quiver. With one hand, she grabs the side of my head while I breathe down her neck, and with the other, she grabs my hand on her breast and squeezes it.

My hand pleases her with steady movements, and I increase the speed little by little. The typical lewd sounds and smells of sex come out, then she closes her eyes and lets out her voice. It's a piece of beautiful music to my ears.

I bite her neck, I lick it, I kiss it. I keep going for a few minutes until she arches her back and her body tenses, then she slowly relaxes and nearly collapses in my arms.

"What… was… that…?" She asks, out of breath.

"You don't know? That's a... climax," I mischievously answer with a smile.

She looks away, a little embarrassed. "Oh… that was much… _stronger_ than I imagined."

I smile a little sadistically and caress her cheek. "There's still more, but I'll let you rest until later."

She grabs my hand and nods while smiling, then she looks at me a little anxiously. "T-thank you… Master… but, I haven't done anything for you."

I get an idea that makes my dick twitch. "Do you know how to use your mouth?"

She needs a little stiffly. "Yes… I was taught that."

_I wonder how._

I release her from my hug, and she leaves the stool, then I sit down on it, and she gets on her knees.

She stares at my cock and blushes, then resolves herself and grabs it delicately. She opens her mouth wide, revealing her four cute canines, then slowly swallows it all. That was slightly scary, but she seems to know how to keep those teeth away from my skin.

Her mouth is warm and soft, but to be honest, the feeling isn't special, it's the view. A cute woman with a dick in her mouth is one of the most erotic sights I can imagine. You shouldn't watch too much porn, it'll rot your brain and make you fantasize wildly about sex, only to be disappointed at reality when you finally get laid.

She starts to carefully move her head, and I feel her tongue moving around. Now _that_ feels good.

"Rougher," I whisper, and she moves her tongue with more vigor.

_What a good girl._

She grabs the shaft and moves her hand along with her head, which just adds to the eroticism.

The pleasure; her face; the tension of these past few days fading away; my fears and guilts surfacing; my dark desires that I'm forced to face; my wish for comfort and skinship. All these things contribute to me just wanting to let it out, so I don't last long, barely two minutes. This is the fastest I've ever came.

"I'm coming," I warn her.

She doesn't pay attention and chokes on it. She only partially swallows, and the rest is wasted on the floor.

"Sorry, Master," she apologizes, sounding disappointed with herself.

I laugh and pat her head as I respond, "There's no problem, you were perfect."

I see a white trickle coming from the corner of her mouth and smile. This scene is just so erotic.

_Oh, shit, I still haven't kissed her yet. What kind of gentleman am I if I got the order of things wrong? Now there's no way I'm kissing her like this._

I awkwardly ask her, "Sorry, but can you brush your teeth? I want to kiss you, but I don't want to do it like this."

She widens her eyes for a second, then pulls out her toothbrush with a *poof* and starts brushing her teeth. After a few seconds, she murmurs something and casts [ _Clean_ ] on her mouth.

Now that she's ready, we finally get into the bath together. She sits on my lap, and I hug her tight, then she relaxes her body against mine.

I look into her large orange eyes lustfully, then I finally kiss her.

She doesn't move her tongue much, so I work for both of us. I explore her mouth and cautiously avoid her sharper-than-normal canines. I'm really glad she's trained because those four teeth could've given me a nasty cut and a new trauma that I don't need.

She slowly gains confidence and starts moving her tongue energetically, rubbing it strongly against mine, asking for more pleasure. Our tongues wrestle for a long time until they finally tire out. Kissing inside a hot bath is truly therapeutic.

I break the kiss, then she hugs me tight and leans her head against my mine. It feels so good that it warms my heart, and I almost cry. This is honestly the thing I needed the most: a hug. I just want to fall asleep like this.

_I'm not alone anymore._

My eyes start closing in sleepiness, then I hear a knock on the door. Our time is up, and we have to leave.

While feeling like I'm lifting a ton of concrete, I break our hug. She suddenly twitches and wakes up.

_Oh, fucking hell. How're you so cute?_

"S-sorry, I fell asleep," she sleepily says and rubs her eyes.

_Is she blushing or is it the hot bath?_

I yawn and pat her head. "No need to apologize for that," I whisper gently.

We quietly dress ourselves and go back to the inn to have dinner. She hugs my arm as we walk, then sits right beside me. I missed cute acts like this.

Selina comes into the dining hall, and she sees us both. I instinctively freeze as if I was caught red-handed, and I clearly see her mouth move into an "ohoho~" kind of laugh, then she smiles and goes back to work.

_What was that…?_

I shake my head and stop thinking about it.

_I don't have the mind to think about it right now, and I don't even know what I want my relationship with Selina to be._

Basking in a post-orgasm glow, we don't talk much and just enjoy our meal, then we go back to our room for round two.

I lay down on the bed first and smile at her. She skips forward, then lays on top of me, and we start kissing.

We spend long minutes just kissing while my hand slowly explores every centimeter of her body, then I finally reach between her legs and start moving the same way as before.

Her tongue moves with a new thirst she hadn't shown yet, then she suddenly breaks it and motions to take my clothes off. I stop playing with her, and in a flash, we're both naked again.

I suddenly grab her and switch positions, putting her below me. She looks at me in surprise and freezes from my sudden action, then I smirk, and she relaxes again.

_Sorry, I'm the one in charge for our first time._

We immediately resume madly kissing, and I feel her down there. Lewd noises come out as her wetness sticks to my fingers.

I untangle her from me and sit so that I can pull out my Ring of Fertility, which I promptly wear and turn on.

 _I like this name_.

Then I pull out a towel, and put it below her because you never know. She just patiently waits for me, but her body fidgets with anxiety.

I smile suggestively, and she spreads her legs for me, and her pussy lips part, showing their wetness to me.

I look her in the eye and scooch closer so that the tip of my dick touches her lips. She stares intensely at it, then her tail starts wagging slowly.

I whisper sultrily, "I'm putting it in, okay?"

"Okay…" She responds shyly, her eyes glued to my cock.

I like how she's straightforward and doesn't hesitate. I guess this is the result of her "training," which makes things so much easier.

I control the sadism inside me and softly add, "If it hurts, tell me, please. We'll do it slowly."

She nods, then I push my hips forward and I slide in. She's tight, so deliciously tight I almost grunt with pleasure.

She lets out a faint moan, then I feel some resistance. I put a little more strength in it, and I get through.

She makes a pained face, so I stop and apply [ _Regeneration_ ] on her.

"W-what? Magic?" She asks, completely surprised.

I nod and caress her cheek. "Yes, I don't like seeing you feeling pain."

She puckers her lips cutely, a little embarrassed. "Thank you. It's alright now."

I feel her vagina relax, reducing the tightness just a little.

I lean forward until I can feel her hot breath on my face, then I whisper sultrily, "Tell me if it hurts again. I can apply [ _Regeneration_ ] for a long time."

"Regen-... that's okay." She nods repeatedly and smiles.

I push until I'm as deep as I can inside her, and we both moan, then I start moving my hips, and she doesn't complain about discomfort. It seems the spell did a little more than just healing and helped her vagina get comfortable with my thick cock spreading her small flower.

I don't try to hold it in to last longer. It's her first time, I'm tired, and I just want to enjoy myself, so there's no pressure for me to perform.

Alissa's cute moans gradually become voiceless as the pleasure builds up inside her. She starts writhing, then she closes her eyes and hugs me, digging her nails deep on my skin.

I cast [ _Regeneration_ ] again on her just to be sure, but she gets so consumed by the pleasure that she doesn't even notice it.

She starts to move her body to impale herself harder on me. Her desperate thirst for cock is just delightful. I want to burn in my memory her cute, moaning face. I want a painting of it.

She bites her lip, then she turns her head away and opens her mouth, letting her moans freely escape. Her pretty little red lips are so captivating that I feel like biting them.

She opens her eyes, and her two pretty orange irises stare deeply into me, then she grabs my head, and we kiss wildly.

_You're my precious treasure._

I don't last much longer and release it all inside her, then we let the embers in our hearts slowly cool down as we just stare at each other's eyes. Our hot and quickened breaths slow down, then we kiss one more time.

Alissa conjures some water into a bucket to clean us both. Her finger turns into a faucet as a substantial trickle of water comes out of it. I guess this is what Ghulam meant when they said she's trained in "lifestyle" magic. She knows enough magic that it's useful in the day-to-day.

I take a look at the towel and see a small drop of blood on it. She notices it a moment after and quickly snatches it to give it a wash.

After she washes us both, we go back to hugging on the bed and sleep together naked.

This time I don't have a nightmare. I just dream that I'm back on the bath, hugging her.

Someone knocks on the door.

"The breakfast is ready," I hear Selina's voice.

I open my eyes and see Alissa's face. Her pretty orange eyes stare lovingly at me, then her ears twitch, and she smiles adorably. Cuteness, first thing in the morning.

"Good morning, Master," she whispers, and I see her tail swaying from behind her.

"Good morning…" I whisper back, then I cup her cheek, and she closes her eyes in delight from my touch. "Were you awake for long? You don't have to keep hugging me if you were uncomfortable."

Her arms push me closer, and she pouts. "I wasn't uncomfortable. I've never slept like this before, but I enjoyed it a lot."

I nod gently and caress her. "We'll always sleep like this from now on. I don't want to sleep alone ever again."

She smiles and nuzzles her face on my chest. I want to close my eyes again and go to sleep like this, but hunger wins. We get up and start getting dressed, then I stretch and yawn happily.

I slept like a baby. I didn't toss around my sleep, and my back doesn't hurt. It seems the best medicine for sleep is Alissa.

I turn around to put on my pants, and she gasps.

"Master, I'm sorry about this," she apologizes worriedly.

I look at her and raise an eyebrow. "What?"

"Your back is scratched," she mutters, then looks down, and her posture shrinks.

I chuckle softly. At least whatever compels her to not "harm" me isn't _that_ sensitive. Then I shake my head and reassure her, "That's proof that a man did his job, so don't worry about it."

She nods, still worried, but lets it go.

We happily eat our breakfast in silence, but I just want to stare at Alissa eating, though.

_Did they put extra spice? The soup tastes better today._

Once she finishes it up, I say, "If you're hungry, it's okay to ask for more. If you get malnourished, your performance will fall."

"Understood, Master," she responds with a happy nod.

_Good girl._

"Also, are you okay?" I probe and watch her intensely. "Thinking of last night, are you uncomfortable or feeling pain somewhere?"

Her ears stand up in attention and she shakes her head emphatically. "I'm fine. Your spells eased any pain I had. Thank you, Master."

We smile at each other like two silly lovebirds and finish our meal.

After breakfast, we go back to our room. I'm starting to feel like doing it again, but I need to take it easy with her. She was a virgin just yesterday, after all, and we also have to talk about something serious.

We sit on the bed facing each other, and I assume a more serious tone as I ask, "Now, then. Can you open your own status window?"

"Yes, Master," she diligently replies.

I open my own "Status," and see that under "Affiliations," there's the entry: "Alissa (Blood Slave)."

"Then tell me every-…" I stop mid-sentence.

_Ho-ho-ho, Christmas came early._

There's a new button below all the other "menu" options I have, it's named "Followers."

I click it.

Info  
  
---  
Name: | Alissa | Age: | 16 | Race: | Fox-Type Wereanimal  
HP: | 100 | MP: | 125 | Magic Power: | 24  
Level: | 24 | Experience: | 245/6500  
  
Stats  
  
Strength: |  11 | Endurance: | 18 | Dexterity: | 22  
Speed: | 20 | Intelligence: | 11 | Wisdom: | 12  
Willpower: | 16 | Charisma: | 10 | Piety: | 15  
Perception: | 17 | Sanity: | 15  
  
Other  
  
Status Effects: | NONE | Titles: | NONE  
Affiliations: | Blood Slave (Owner: Wolf Ryder)  
Companions: | NONE  
Crimes: | NONE  
  
_Damn, girl. Those are some high stats. I'm jealous._

I also have the option to look at her skills and magic.

Alissa Skill Report  
  
---  
  
Physical  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Sword Use | 9 | Bow Use  | 20 | Parry | 4  
Dodge | 2 | Sense Presence | 5 | Hide Presence | 3  
Enhanced Olfact | 5 | Enhanced Hearing | 3 | Pain Resistance | 2  
Hawk Eyes | 1 | Muscle Explosion | 1 | Quiet Steps | 3  
Quiet Action | 2 | Tracking | 2  
  
Magical  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Sense Mana | 1 | Mana Control | 1 | Fire Magic | 1  
Light Magic | 1 | Space Magic | 1 | Conjuring Magic | 1  
  
Miscellaneous  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Housework | 3 | Cooking | 2 | Cleaning | 2  
Washing | 5 | Riding | 2 | Oral Technique | 4  
Hand Technique | 2 | Fox Transformation (innate) | 4  
  
_Holy shit girl, you're strong._

_What the hell is [Muscle Explosion]? [Tracking] is a skill that goes up to level five, so I guess it's not a bad thing she's at level two. Miscellaneous skills like [Cooking], [Cleaning], and [Housework] go up to level ten, so she's not inexperienced in them. Oral and [Hand Technique] are clearly sexual. Also, now I know why she's so good at washing. And what's that (innate) skill? I never saw it on my skill list. And finally, I'm really worried about how she got that [Pain Resistance]._

Her magic is:

Spells  
  
---  
Clean | Spirit Light (weak) | Conjure Water | Conjure Bland Meal (weak) | Fireball | Telekinesis  
Item Box (weak)  
  
I guess that "(weak)" means she learned [ _Item Box_ ], [ _Conjure Bland Meal_ ], and [ _Spirit Light_ ] even though she doesn't have enough skill points for it.

I see she has four unassigned skill points, and I can edit them, just like I can do for myself. I can add and remove points, but I can't remove from trained skills, and I can't add to that (innate) one.

_Still… This. Is. Fucking. Amazing!_

"Master, what is it?" She innocently asks and tilts her head cutely. Heart damage.

"Hmm…" I rub my chin in thought and tentatively ask, "Is it possible for someone to see someone else's status screen?"

"You mean, like the Inspection Crystal?"

"More like seeing someone else's screen like you see your own."

"Huh…" She mumbles, and her ears flick. "Never heard of it. Only the Crystal should be able to look into someone's soul."

"Well. Here's a secret you have to keep." -I smile excitedly- "I can see your status screen like it's my own."

"Wha-wha-what?!" She stutters and stares at me incredulously.

I shrug. "That's how it is. To prove it, let me tell you something personal: you have four skill points in [Oral Technique]," I teasingly say with a smirk.

She gasps and her eyes widen, then she starts blushing heavily.

I tease her further, "Tell me, how did you learn that skill?"

"I-I didn't!" She suddenly exclaims and her arms twitch in exasperation, her tail goes stiff, and her voice cracks, seemingly about to cry. "I mean, it wasn't real… I swear! I-it's wood…! Please!" She's in a full-on panic.

I grab her shoulder and look straight into her eyes. "Calm down! That's not what I meant."

She freezes completely and starts to control herself again. "Y-yes… that's right… I'm sorry, I lost my temper, Master. I-I deserve punishment for this." She suddenly bows and keeps her head low.

"You don't deserve punishment," I flatly respond, slightly annoyed at her behavior. I grab her shoulder and gently pull her straight, but she still keeps her head down.

"Thank you, Master," she mutters.

"Now, you said wood?" I ask, trying not to giggle.

She raises her head and looks at me nervously, then her eyes shift about. "Y-yes… The Chieftess brought wooden penises for us to practice on. She showed me the act, and I copied it. It was so embarrassing…"

 _I wonder how she'd feel if she had to show her skills during customs. Well, anyways… I at least have to give my thanks to this "Chieftess" for her thoughtfulness. Alissa's blowjob felt_ really _good._

I simply smirk at her, and she starts pouting from my teasing, then something dawns on her, and she asks, "But, Master, how are you doing it? I've never heard of such a skill."

I awkwardly massage my neck and look away.

 _I don't want to tell her the truth yet, and she doesn't_ need _to know everything, so I'll just tell a small part of it._

I turn to her and answer seriously, "It's only possible with you because you're my slave, but I can't tell you how I do it. Also, remember that this is a secret, so don't tell anyone."

"Understood," she nods energetically. Even her nods have their own charm.

_Fuck, I'm way too crazy about her right now._

I clear my head of these silly thoughts so I can focus on continuing the questioning. "Now, how did you learn [ _Item Box_ ]?"

She hesitates for a moment, then she responds unsurely, "I copied the Chieftess' mana manipulation until I was able to cast the spell." My questions may be confusing her, but she's not comfortable enough in asking what the fuck is wrong with me, yet. 

"Hm… let's start at the beginning. How is magic learned, in general?"

She nods slowly, and her voice becomes even more hesitant. "It's common to start learning spells while one's still a child. In my case, I hugged the Chieftess while she practiced magic until I learned [Sense Mana], then I copied the feeling I had when hugging her until I learned [Mana Control]. After that, I trained to increase my mana pool until I had enough mana to use [ _Item Box_ ], then, finally, I copied her mana manipulation until I was able to cast it. It went the same way for [ _Conjure Bland Meal_ ] and [ _Spirit Light_ ]. It's essential for a hunter to have those spells, so I trained more intensively than a normal child to learn them."

_Then I'll do the same thing with her until I learn those skills and spells. Possibly at night, before I abuse her body._

I rub my chin in thought. "I see… Now, what is [Muscle Explosion]?"

Her voice now becomes completely robotic. "It's a skill that lets me do a really strong or really fast movement for a split second. It's useful in avoiding a fatal strike that you can't avoid entirely."

 _Oh? So that's how the Orc Headhunter might have been able to dodge the [_ Ice Lance _] from Rania._

"How did you get [Pain Resistance]?"

"That's…" -She looks down worriedly and her ears go flat- "Please understand that I'm the one who insisted on it." If she wasn't talking in such a serious tone, I'd be squealing at her cuteness.

I frown in confusion. "What…? What does it mean?"

"I asked for the Chieftess to torture me."

_Wow._

I let my eyebrows shoot up and stare at her very worriedly. "Uh… and why would you do that?"

She straightens her posture, and her ears perk up, then she puts her hands on her lap in a lady-like way, and proudly declares with a practiced tone, "I'm supposed to be a tool. I'm to be used in combat or as a sex slave as you see fit, so I can't afford to fail because of pain. It would bring great shame to my clan if the soldiers they train can't reach the utmost of their potential due to such a simple weakness. The Chieftess was too soft, she didn't want to do it, but I insisted until she gave in, so please, don't think she's a bad person. It's just my duty to be strong."

_That's excessive. She really takes her duty seriously, but I'm starting to feel bad about her. That Chieftess also sounds like a mother, but I don't think I should ask her about that right now._

I straighten my posture, too, and assume a more serious tone. "Well, again, I must say I'm sorry because I don't plan on putting you in any sort of situation that will require you to have that skill."

She stays still for a few seconds, then lowers her head, bites her lip, and clenches her fist. After a few seconds of emotions building up, she leans forward and rests her head against my shoulder.

The composure from before is completely gone as she softly whispers, "Thank you, for being so kind. I… am glad you bought me. I know it's my duty to be a tool, but I'm still glad you're my master."

Even if she's brainwashed into wanting to fulfill her "duty," it doesn't change the fact that she'll feel better if she's treated like a human… werefox, I mean.

I hug her and pat her head, then we stay like this for a while. This position is a little uncomfortable, so I turn her around and adjust myself so I can hug her from behind.

My cheek rubs on hers, and I can clearly smell the perfume I bought for her. She slowly recovers from her emotional state, and I feel her cheeks burn against mine.

After a while longer, her embarrassment subsides, so I continue, "What is [Fox Transformation]?"

She turns her head to the side and sends me a subtle confused glance. Then she speaks and her breath tickles my neck, "It's the racial skill of all wereanimals. My type is fox, so I can turn into a large one, and I'm really proud of its size" -she smiles excitedly- "and since you're small, you can even ride on me."

_Argh, emotional damage. I'm conscious of being small and thin, but still, that's cool as fuck._

"That's amazing, I really want to see that," I approve and give her a warm look.

She smiles back, then faces forward and returns to our previous hugging position.

"Master… do you allow me to ask one question?" She asks tentatively.

I pat her head. "Yes, you may. You can ask anything you want, actually."

I'll likely lie because I still don't want to explain everything to her. I also don't feel like talking about home because explaining my background might be really hard and not that important in the end. Creating a rather believable lie might even be useful in the future if I have to explain myself to others, so I can determine its believability by her reactions.

She frowns slightly and her ears twitch cutely as she asks, "The questions you ask me are… _odd_. Forgive me for saying this, but why haven't you learned these things? Even a commoner's child would've learned from their parents a simple spell like [ _Clean_ ]."

I gently caress her head and calmly lie through my teeth, "Think of it like this: I'm a foreigner from a really, really far land. The common sense here is just way too different from the one in my homeland, so I've been trying to get the general sense for how things are done here to not stand out."

Her ears perk up as it dawns on her. "Oh! I understand, Master, but how far is it that you never met another wereanimal?"

I look away and think for a moment. "I'm… well, it's difficult to give you a sense of distance since even I don't know because I teleported here. My origin is another secret, so let's just say that I come from somewhere far and poor when asked. Also, it's okay to say I never told you its name."

Her tail stops swaying as she mutters, "I see…" And I feel a hint of disappointment in her voice.

Can't let the awkward atmosphere settle, so quickly I move on. "Next topic. Do you pray?"

Her tail starts swaying again, and she answers earnestly, "Yes, I do. I pray to the God of War for glory in battle and the God of Endurance to allow me to fulfill my duty." - _I'm not really surprised with her choice of gods_ \- "Do the people of your homeland not know about the Humanoid Gods, Master?"

"Correct. Which is why I think I should start praying to them, but how should I do it?"

She tilts her head cutely and I pat her harder. "Hm… just ask for help? The gods may have lost their mortality and bonds with the land, but they still have their own personalities, their likes, and their dislikes. The God of War and the God of Endurance were simple men during their lives, so I just ask them for glory in battle and the power to keep standing after."

I scratch my head as I think. "Do you like, hold your hands to pray or do some sort of ceremony, like, get on your knees? Do you give them offerings or something like that?"

"There's no need. Praying is the way you tell them how you wish to be helped, and they're gods who focus on results, so they'll help you when you need and become happy when you succeed."

_How practical. I like these gods._

I pat her head absentmindedly. "Hm… I'm thinking about praying for the God of the Sun, the Goddess of Growth, and the Goddess of Knowledge. What do you think?"

She sends me a curious glance. "God of the Sun? I don't know why people would pray for him unless you're royalty."

I smile wryly. "Yeah, well, I have my reasons."

"Okay…" She mumbles, still a bit awkward with my ignorance. "Then the Goddess of Growth is a good one to pray to if you're training hard. She's also known to help the Goddess of Fertility and the Goddess of Plants."

_I guess the interpretation of "growth" is quite liberal, then._

"But why the Goddess of Knowledge? Wouldn't the God of War be better for an adventurer?" She continues probing. Her curiosity has led her to forget her slave training, which pleases me greatly.

"I'm actually more of a mage, so I want to improve my magic, and I also think knowledge should be helpful in understanding this place since I'm a foreigner." I smile wryly.

Her ears twitch again and I almost squeal. "Oh! You're a mage who can use the sword? Ah, yes, you _did_ use [ _Regeneration_ ] on me last night. But that's amazing, Master!" She looks at me wide-eyed. _That's enough praise, please_. "Then I think the Goddess of Knowledge is a good choice. If we please the God of War enough, then he could bless you even if you don't pray to him."

_What a nice guy._

"Then how should I pray for them?"

I pat her head more intensely, and she closes her eyes for a moment to enjoy it before answering, "I don't know much about the God of the Sun, but maybe you should ask for a hard day's work? For the Goddess of Growth, you have to wish to improve with all your willpower; that's how the priest taught me. The Goddess of Knowledge is very fickle, so you should ask a scholar about it. From what I understood, you need to wish to seek knowledge without 'cloudy eyes' and to always write a book about what you know."

_"Cloudy eyes"? Is that bias? I guess I should talk to Ciel about it._

I give her a little squeeze in appreciation. "That's all I had to ask. Do you have any questions about me?"

She grabs my hand on her belly and also gives it an appreciative squeeze. "Not right now, Master."

"Then let's form a fellowship."

A fellowship of the rin-... nah. Anyway, it's like a game "party." It allows us to share experience and to always know the position of each other. The dungeoneering advice book said it's the first thing a group of people working together should do. Also, I feel like I don't want to ever break this fellowship with her.

We interlace the fingers of our right hand with each other and recite the phrase in unison, "We swear to share our war and our soul and to always keep each other's company."

On my menu screen, under "Companions," the entry "Alissa" appears. If I concentrate and think about her, I should be able to sense the direction and her distance from me. But since she's too close right now it doesn't work properly.

I release her hand and crawl close to her. I caress her cheek as I say to her, "Let's go to the hunters' guild after lunch. Right now, I want to savor you." I suddenly hug her tightly and throw us onto the bed.

"YAH!" She screams in surprise at the sudden attack.

I kiss her deeply as my hand explores her body, then her tongue starts to respond.

I've always considered myself the "clingy" type, and it was so bad that I'd hold myself back because I always wanted to touch and hug Lily whenever possible. I feel like Alissa won't say no to me, even if she doesn't want to cuddle, so I'll have to learn her limits with skinship, too, even though I don't want to.

_Shit, thinking about Lily makes me feel guilty, but I told myself I'd enjoy this world, dammit. I'll do whatever I want!_

The kissing escalates, and soon we're naked again.

I lick her nipples, suck on them, pinch them lightly, worship them. This time, I take my time caressing her body until I make her wet without even touching her down there.

I stop and stare at her with a grin. Her thighs rub against each other and she pants softly, getting out of breath already.

"You want it?" I whisper in a husky tone.

She doesn't answer, but she licks her lips.

"Tell me what you want," I press her further.

She looks at me with a mix of a pout and a shy look on her face. Her delicate whisper makes my cock twitch as she pleads, "P-please put it in, Master."

If a phrase could be considered art, that would be it.

This time she's more relaxed, so she's not so tight, and she doesn't make a pained face when I slide in.

She keeps her eyes open, locked with mine, and we enter a trance as our bodies move on their own, fueled by the mad desire to fuck.

I don't try to hold it in, and soon, I splurge all over her taut belly.

I'll slowly increase the time I last to match her own sexual stamina. Doing too much and too hard might hurt her for now, so I have to ease her into the world of sex.

After a quick wash, I hug her, and we doze off.

I wake up feeling hungry. By the position of the sun, it's not even noon yet. I slowly detach myself from Alissa's body and get up, then she also gets up immediately after. She must've been sleeping lightly.

This time, I have her teach me how to brush her hair and tail. I'm a little bit afraid of damaging her fur or hurting her, so I let her finish the job after learning the basics.

We get up, and she cringes again at the new set of love marks she left on my back.

We go downstairs, and I see something that melts my heart.

"What is that… animal?" I point to the cute little creature.

I see a forty centimeters tall cute little squirrel with a cute little apron and a cute miniature broom. It sweeps the floor of the inn while humming in a cute little voice and smiling cutely. It has a slightly oversized cute hand with rather long fingers that let it grip things easily.

Alissa hums mirthfully and assumes a teaching tone as she educates me, "That's a nature spirit. They're souls of people who didn't want to leave the land, so they fused with the souls of nature and materialized like this. If you give it something it likes, it might help you. Also, it's a good omen to see an inn being able to make one happy…" -She squeezes my hand and lowers her voice- "But, Master, they're everywhere, how come you never saw one?"

I scramble to search for another lie. "Erm… perhaps the souls in my homeland never linger long. I guess our priests are just good." I shrug.

She gives a look of wonder. "I see, so it must be a place full of good Spirit mages, then."

I grin and whisper, "Can I pet it?"

Her expression becomes a bit pitying. "It'll just dematerialize if you try. You have to win its trust first."

_Awn… let's just move on and have lunch._

Every so often, we find a minstrel on the streets, singing about something random. This seems to be a profitable job since most of them have quite a bit of coin in their tipping hats. Though, for me, they sound kinda bad. The instant translation inside my brain prevents me from enjoying the poetry, and the instruments they use, mostly lutes or harps, are rather crude.

"Curious about the minstrels, Master?" Alissa asks, failing to hold back a slightly smug smile.

I smile wryly. "Uh, yes. Seems profitable to sing on the streets."

"Only because it's the month of Song. Because of the Festivals of Seasons, the temple encourages us to tip the singers."

"Huh, curious…"

Alissa smiles at my innocence.

Money is short, so we buy a cheap meal with some Rabid Rabbit meat, then we go to the hunters' guild.

I'll register Alissa because that gives the guild a paper trail that she's with me. This also marks that she's reliable so she can do business in my stead in the future.

The attendant raises an eyebrow when she looks at Alissa's ID card.

_It's the sexual skills, right?_

I also register the fellowship. It's just a courtesy, but the guild likes it because they can better organize the hunters in times of crisis.

For some reason, you have to name your fellowship. I think about naming it "Fellowship of the Ring," but I worry about copyright laws in this game, erm, world, so I try to think of something more appropriate.

Alissa tilts her head in confusion and questions, "Master… why are you looking so serious? It's just a name isn't it?"

_No, little one, this is my banner, my heraldry, my legacy, my legend. I can't screw up and end up like I did with my new name where I feel uncomfortable when people call me Wolf Ryder. I need a strong name that instills pride when it's uttered._

"You wouldn't understand," I wryly answer.

Alissa gives me a troubled look while the female attendant shrugs. She has seen this scene more than once.

Honestly, nothing feels appropriate, but it's not like people are going to laugh at this name, so I'll just pick a reference to something I like. I kind of like astronomy even though it's not my area, so I pick something in reference to that.

"Helios," I write down the name. Maybe the God of the Sun will get the reference.

The attendant takes the papers away, and under "Affiliations" on our status screen, the entry "Helios (fellowship)" appears.

With that, we move towards the training grounds.

I give her hand a gentle squeeze and state, "I want to see you train the sword and the bow a bit to get a feel for your strength. I also want to spend the afternoon here so that I can train my magic."

Her ears point up and her tail sways faster as she gives me a slightly proud smile. "Understood, Master. I'm sure you won't be disappointed with my skills."

We enter the grounds, and Toga's gaze immediately finds me.

_Nope, not today. I'll be training magic on my corner veeery far away from you._

But first, I watch Alissa spar with an instructor, and thankfully, it isn't Toga. It's a much gentler man, but he's no less skilled.

Alissa flows with the sword, making dodging and parrying seem effortless, then she smoothly weaves in attacks with blinding speed. She's truly fast, though the instructor is still faster.

I'm actually curious why she's so good at dodging and parrying since her level in those skills are lower than mine. Perhaps it's the "Speed" and "Dexterity" that combine with the skill and work as some sort of multiplier, so she doesn't need a high skill to be effective.

A few men stare at Alissa intensely.

_Shoo, go away, that one is mine. There are other women here that are also training, so go bother them._

After a few minutes, I go to my corner and continue watching from afar. I ask the Goddess of Growth to help me increase my MP so I can always have mana to heal and support Alissa, then I start my [ _Fireball_ ] routine.

After an hour, Alissa switches to the bow and she quickly starts drawing a crowd with her archery skills. Her speed is comparable to the instructors, but her accuracy is unmatched. She's my own female Legolas.

She looks ferocious as she fires arrow after arrow, her eyes staring towards her target like a hawk does to its prey. It's a complete reverse of how she is in bed, kind of the inverse of me.

Alissa keeps taking my concentration away with her beauty and magnificence, so my training routine is sloppier than before. But it's okay since I enjoy watching her very much.

When dusk starts to come, we go back to the inn and reserve another bath. I'm way too tired for anything, so we just cuddle and kiss in the hot water.

After dinner, I ask her to use her mouth, and she happily gobbles it up, eager to show her skills.

She gives me a constant and smooth pleasure, and I close my eyes to enjoy it to the fullest. This time, she understands my warning and doesn't choke.

Then we sleep together while hugging each other again.

I dream of Alissa shooting goblins while I laugh and drink tea.

I wake up quite well-rested and get a deep kiss from her as a greeting. I think this should be a morning routine.

My MP increased by 40 (now 255). That's kinda high since I didn't train very well yesterday, so could this be the result of prayer?

I decide to look at the extermination requests at the hunters' guild. With Alissa's tracking, we can hunt for some of those juicy bounties.

We walk along the streets with our arms entwined. She's a few centimeters taller than me, so it's a bit awkward at first until we get used to each other's rhythm.

We enter the guild and start looking at requests, then I hear footsteps approach.

"Hello! Are you Wolf Ryder?" A chipper and gruff male voice greets me. We turn around and see a short and wide man in full chainmail armor. He has black hair and droopy eyes that make him look like he's always thinking. "I'm Targua, from Honest Shield." He adds after a moment and gives us a diplomatic smile.

"Uh… hi, hello, yes, I'm Ryder," I confusedly return the greeting.

Another voice comes from further back in the guild, "Oi! don't listen to him, join my fellowship, instead!" A blonde and lanky man with a bow slung over his shoulder comes running and interjects. His face seems a bit roguish, and he sports a considerable nose.

"What?" I mumble, dumbfounded.

_Stop, rewind, and start from the beginning this time._

Targua facepalms and chides him, "Bug off, mate. I haven't even asked him yet and you just jump in the middle."

The lanky man stops in front of me and gives me a business smile while extending his hand for a handshake. "I'm Simon, from Swift Wind. Pleasure to meetcha, yeah? How about you join my fellowship?" He quickly introduces himself and immediately announces his offer.

_Where did you two even come from?_

I hesitantly shake his large and rough hand, then Targua sends us a strained smile and continues, "Uh… sorry, but yeah, how about you join my fellowship instead?"

I frown in confusion and sincerely ask, "Why are you guys asking me to join?"

"No shit we're looking for you, mate," Simon grunts and snorts. "A magic swordsman who can kill _and_ carry a Grey Berserker or an Orc Headhunter is no joke. And then yesterday, everyone at the training grounds was raving about your new companion who's a crazy pretty lass with an extremely deadly bow."

His speech sounds weird. Is this the effect of the [Andraste Language] skill trying to translate casual slang?

I look at Targua and he shrugs.

The thing that annoys me is how they want _us_ to join _their_ fellowship. No, thanks.

I shake my head and reject their offer, "Sorry, but I prefer to keep walking my own path for now."

"Ehh. Really?" Simon frowns reprovingly, and I nod at him. "Well, that's a shame, mate. We could make a killing with you and the girl."

I feel Alissa's grip tighten in subtle anger.

Targua takes a step closer and clasps his hands in a subtle pleading gesture. "Is that so? Is there no room for negotiations? We could always search for a good deal that'd benefit both of us."

_I kind of like your attitude, but back off, you're too close to Alissa._

I look at them sternly and stand my ground, "No, sorry. It's not a question about money, it's personal."

Simon shrugs and makes a sour face. "Well, I tried," he mumbles and walks away.

Targua gently nods in understanding and accepts, "Sorry to bother you, then. Be well Mr. Ryder" Then he also leaves.

"I fully agree with your decision, Master," Alissa whispers while sending a mean gaze to the two men walking away. "Those men would exploit you. It's almost always what happens when getting scouted by veterans. Fellowships are bonds made of trust, and those which are made of money are weak."

_How romantic._

I nod in agreement, then we turn back and continue searching for a request.

There's a good one. It's a bounty for an Oodogloo which was found yesterday. This monster is a threat level three. It's a large, transparent slime with a human skeleton inside. Because it can walk with the skeleton, it's faster than normal crawling slimes that move like caterpillars or worms. It should have a distinctive ammonia scent, so it's easy to track with Alissa's nose, but it's a very annoying enemy to catch because it runs away from everything and preys on livestock. It was last found half a day away northwest from here, at the farms past Royd's Kerfuffle.

Alissa follows my eyes and sees the request I'm interested in. "I can take you there on my fox form," she suggests.

_Oh, yes._

I smirk and reply, "Want to go there right now?"

She smiles brightly and her tail sways. "Yes! I want to test my bow. The Oodogloo is good for target practice because it's so nimble."

"Then let's go."

I want to go not because I'm excited to fight, but because I want a reason to ride Alissa. We already have all the requirements for sleeping outside, so we're completely ready.

We pass through customs with ease since we're both adventurers.

A few meters away from the crowd trying to enter the town, Alissa turns to me and excitedly says, "I'm skilled enough to absorb my clothes after transforming, but you'll have to hold my weapons, Master."

I hold them for her, and she turns around.

Here comes the trademark of magic in this world: she starts to shine. Her skin turns black, and her armor disappears inside her body, then orange fur starts to grow everywhere and her limbs warp. In just a couple of seconds, she turns into a one-meter tall orange fox.

Her big orange eyes look at me, then she opens her mouth and talks, but her jaw doesn't move, "Master, get on me, please." Seeing her speak like this is really weird.

"Uhh… shouldn't we get a saddle?" I question.

"There's no need; just grab my fur. This form is made of mana, so I don't feel pain."

I shrug. "If you say so."

I awkwardly mount her and delight myself with her incredibly soft and warm fur. I immediately notice that a big part of her body is pure fluffy fur and that she isn't very muscular.

I nuzzle up to her neck and secure myself.

Once I'm comfortable, she starts walking forward and explains, "I'll increase speed slowly, so tell me if it shakes too much."

"Alright, let's go."

Then she starts running, and I start to feel weird from the rhythmic swaying. She's fast, though, so it's really advantageous for us to move this way. I've never ridden a horse, so I need some time to learn how to deal with this.

During the trip, I keep thinking about what to do with her skill points. She has six free points that I can assign, and that's kind of a lot.

It's going to be hard to explain this ability to her, though. I can just use the "it's a secret" excuse, but this is kind of a big and weird secret because it seemingly violates the laws of the skill system. She could even think I'm a demi-god, or something, and I'm not comfortable with that.

I think I'll lie to her, again. I'll look into the skill she wants to improve the most and slowly put those points there. It's just the less messy way, I believe.

Well, I _could_ just do whatever I want and shrug if she notices something wrong. It's not like she's going to assume I'm the one doing it. But I'll tell her the truth, one day… just not now.

To test things, I put one point in [Enhanced Stamina].

The landscape remains the same all the way: long plantations on one side of the road, and a small wall on the other with the Sea of Trees behind it. It's a rather calming trip through a soothing scenery.

It takes us less than half the time to walk there, and we reach our target location a few hours before midday. We stop in front of the farm that was attacked, Woodwick Ranch.

Alissa slows down and stops under the shade of a tree by the road, then I drop down, and she reverses the transformation. She graciously gets up from being on her fours and looks at me, then I notice her posture seems a little droopy from tiredness.

I sit down on the roots and pull out the old sleeping bag beside me. I return her weapons to her, then she ties the sword and quiver to her waist and slings her bow over her shoulder.

"Lay down here, please," I ask and pat the bag.

"Thank you, Master," she diligently obeys.

_She's so polite. She's always thanking me, but it does make me a bit uncomfortable, though._

"This is odd, I'm not as tired as I thought I'd be," she remarks and lays down.

_So she noticed._

I pat her head, then she closes her eyes, and her tail twitches under her.

"Is that so? Didn't you miscalculate the distance? Or perhaps just by sleeping with me you got stronger?" I suggest with a grin.

She opens her eyes in surprise and stares at me.

"That was a joke, my body is no miracle drug," I add flatly and snort.

She awkwardly looks away for a moment. "Y-yes. That's not what I was thinking, though."

"Then what were you thinking?"

"It's what you said about being happy increases performance. It could be true."

_So she's actually happy, now? I'm glad._

"Well, I wasn't lying," I tease her with a pout.

Her face warps with fear. "I'm sorry! That wasn't what I meant. I wanted to say that I just noticed it for the first time."

I chuckle at her, and she immediately pouts at my teasing. "It's okay, I understand," I whisper and pat her head faster.

She calms down and closes her eyes again.

She gets up after a good half-hour, fully recovered from our trip.

"Oh? I got a new skill, [Enhanced Stamina]," she observes and knits her eyebrows in confusion.

I hold back my grin and respond, "That's great. It means you can stay longer in your fox form right?"

"Yes, precisely," she mumbles with a puzzled face.

"Something wrong?"

Her tail lazily sways. "It's just that it was too easy. Like 'Endurance,' these sort of skills are hard to come by."

"Maybe you put more effort than you thought. I think you're a serious and hard worker, so this isn't unexpected for me." I give her shoulder an assuring squeeze.

She shrinks her posture, feeling a bit shy, but her tail starts wagging.

"Perhaps…" And her voice trails off while she looks into the distance.

Now that she has a better [Sense Presence] than me, I decide to remove it along with [Mental Resistance] since there's no need for it here. I increase [Blessing Magic] to level ten so I can use [ _Swift Foot_ ] to give us a boost in speed. I increase [Electric Magic] to five and [Mana Control] to one so I can use [ _Lightning Bolt_ ] more effectively to stun the Oodogloo because it's likely to run away.

My skills look like this:

Wolf Ryder Skill Report  
  
---  
  
Physical  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Sword Use | 6+2 | Dodge | 2+4 | Parry  | 1+4  
Block | 2+4 | Shield Bash | 0+1  
  
Magical  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Mana Efficiency | 3+0 | Mana Recovery | 3+0 | Reduced Mana Cost | 3+0  
Mana Control | 1+0 | Electric Magic | 5+0 | Nature Magic | 5+0  
Blessing Magic | 10+0  
  
Miscellaneous  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Andraste Language | 10+0 | Dismantling | 0+1  
  
Now I need to explain my skills to Alissa, it's time to lie… again.

"Alissa, strategy meeting. Time to tell you another secret," I call her attention, and she sits down again obediently. I clear my throat and continue, "I have a power that basically allows me to use all kinds of magic, but it takes time to switch between magic types, and I'm not exactly proficient in any of them."

"Wow… that's amazing, Master," she innocently coos in wonder. "So, you're actually a genius magician."

_Not true, but it's convenient that you think like this, so I won't tell you otherwise._

I awkwardly massage my neck. "Well, err… perhaps it is so. I just know it's something I'm capable of. But like I said, I'm not very proficient in magic in general. I'm a jack-of-all-trades, master of none."

"'Jack-of-all-trades'?" She tilts her head. Her confused face is adorable.

"An expression from my homeland, it means 'a person who can do anything,' but I'm not particularly good in any of them, therefore, I'm a 'master of none.'"

"I see…" She nods in understanding.

"Then, for this hunt, I'm going to use [Blessing Magic] and [Electric Magic]. I'll give us [ _Swift Foot_ ], and when we meet the monster, I'll use [ _Lightning Bolt_ ] to try to stun it. You just turn it into a pincushion."

"Pin… cushion. Ah, with the arrows. Another reference, I think." She looks puzzled, then smiles faintly once she gets it.

_The pincushion isn't a thing yet?_

"Ready?" I ask.

She gets up and hums confidently, "Yes, let's start looking for the monster."

Since Alissa has [Sense Presence] and the bow, she'll be basically assassinating every monster while I kind of do nothing until the battle, but there's no way around it, that's how trackers work.

Still, we're going to search the Sea of Trees during the day, so we could meet something that won't go down so easily. That's when I'll have to protect Alissa from getting into melee.

I cast [ _Swift Foot_ ] on both of us, and two-thirds of my mana disappear.

We'll search the Sea of Trees for the Oodoogloo during the day while it sleeps, then we'll return to the farm to protect the livestock when the night falls.

This monster is the annoying kind that preys on large animals, but it isn't smart, just cowardly. It attacks the farms at random, so finding it before it leaves its nest is a better option than waiting for the night to come.

I bought a small compass, which will help with navigation, but we're basically going to wander around until Alissa catches its trail. If a farm gets attacked tonight, then it might leave tracks for us to follow, but the reward will drop a bit if it kills anything, so we don't want to rely on that.

As we make our way into the Sea of Trees, a familiar scenery appears before me: huge trees, damp air, dark atmosphere, unfamiliar fruits, gigantic entwining roots, hanging vines everywhere, and random patches of weirdly colored trees. I'm surprised there aren't more insects here considering how warm and wet this place is. Thank god for the Japanese devs who must hate bugs.

I lead the way with the compass, and we go directly west, deep into the forest.

After half an hour of walking, Alissa stops me. "Something is coming. Two small monsters," she whispers soberly.

We hide and wait for them to get into visual range, then Alissa ID's them: two lightly armored goblins. They have leather jackets, loincloths, a stone-tipped spear, and a crude wooden shield.

I give the order, "Fire at will. I'll block the second one if it reaches us."

She nods vigorously. "Understood." Then she gets up and fires two quick arrows.

Both goblins silently die with an arrow between their eyes before they can even react.

"Well…" I shrug and smile wryly.

I collect their ears and return to her.

"Likely scouts. There could be a small group camping nearby," Alissa guesses.

"Let's not get close to their camp."

"Understood."

Her demeanor has become as serious as when she was training, and I guess it's because she's fulfilling her "duty."

We move west again, and only a few minutes later, we have our second encounter. This time, there are three enemies coming, fast.

Alissa doesn't recognize what they are, and she doesn't believe they've detected us, but our paths are going to cross, and they're too close to safely avoid.

I decide to ambush them, so I'll get the one on the right, and Alissa will try to quickly kill the two on the left.

We patiently wait for them to approach, and I start to hear the pitter-patter of multiple small feet scurrying closer to us.

Alissa gives me the signal, then we spring out of our hiding spot and attack. Our enemies are three Mossy Fangpines.

I immediately cast [ _Lightning Bolt_ ] at the first Fangpine, and the second receives an arrow on its head. A second arrow immediately flies towards the third Fangpine, but it's way too agile and manages to dodge, then it charges towards us.

I cast another [ _Lightning Bolt_ ] at the stunned Fangpine, then an arrow sinks into its forehead and it dies.

I prepare myself to receive the charging monster. With my sword hiding behind my shield, I wait until the last moment, then I thrust.

The Fangpine is stupid and jumps into my sword, which sinks into its body, then it falls on my shield and I nearly lose my footing.

It starts to wriggle wildly, so I cast a [ _Lightning Bolt_ ] with my shield hand right at its face and it goes limp, then I use my shield to push it off from my sword.

It falls on the ground with a thud, but it doesn't get up.

"Dead. You must've pierced its heart," Alissa comments.

"Lucky strike, I guess," I respond nervously.

"Perhaps… you could use a spear?" She suggests tentatively.

I scratch my head. "Perhaps… I feel a bit more comfortable with the sword, though."

She gives me a rather pitying look. "Your sword has a small reach, and I don't think you have the 'Strength' to use anything bigger."

I feel like pouting, but I hold it back.

_I'm working on it._

The Fangpines are valuable, but their price varies depending on the stocks of ingredients for the alchemists or meat for the restaurants. So far, I haven't seen their meat being sold, so maybe the stocks are low.

"They must've sensed the goblins' deaths," Alissa speculates.

"Then let's change our direction. Let's move towards the north a little."

I collect all of their bodies and we move on.

There are no encounters for another hour, so we decide to have lunch early.

I spread a large cloth over the ground, and we sit down on it.

Our meal is a bean paste and Rabid Rabbit meat sandwich on a not-baguette. Unfortunately, the crust is not as crunchy as I'd like, but at least it doesn't make a mess. I forgot to buy fruit for juice or to even bring tea, so the meal is kind of boring.

"Next time, we should buy tea," I mutter.

Her ears twitch and her tail wags. "Oh? You like tea? You didn't tell me."

I smile awkwardly. "I forgot…"

_My mind was too busy with abusing your body._

After our meal, I cast [ _Wind Armor_ ] on both of us and [ _Sharp Blades_ ] on myself. After the next break, I'll cast [ _Sharp Blades_ ] on her. It's kind of annoying that I don't have enough MP to cast all my [Blessing Magic] in one go, but that can only be solved with more training.

We get up and move southwest since there's not much sense in going north too far. The Oodogloo nests deep in the forest during the day, but it's not smart enough to move diagonally to purposely avoid those chasing him.

We walk for another half hour before Alissa detects the next enemy.

"This one is large. I don't think it's a Grey Berserker, but I don't know what it is," she reports.

"Then let's observe."

Alissa leads ten meters in front because I don't have [Quiet Steps].

She makes the signal for me to stop, then sneaks ahead, circling a large root. She sights our target, then comes back to report.

"It's a Young Ogre."

A threat level 4 monster. It's capable of wiping a squad of soldiers, but we should be able to deal with him if we follow proper tactics. A simple plan is the most powerful power multiplier.

They're becoming a common sight after the culling, it seems, and this must be why their leather is cheap. The new monster is emigrating into the empty territory. They'll likely remain a common encounter until the next culling.

I store my shield inside my "Items" and give up on using a spear. Neither of these will be useful in this fight.

"Standard formation. For your first arrow, aim for the eye," I order, and she nods in acknowledgment.

Our "standard formation" is her being the damage dealer while I'm the bait and controller. She'll fire the first arrow, then I'll cast [ _Lightning Bolt_ ] repeatedly and keep it busy while she aims for the vitals.

She sneaks towards it again without making a single sound, then she draws her bow and releases.

"UGOOOOH!" The ogre's scream makes the trees tremble. If this is a young one, then the adult will cause an earthquake.

It rushes from behind the root with an arrow sticking out of its right eye. I observe it and wait until it gets into range.

The ogre is a two meters tall red-brown skinned humanoid with ridiculously thick arms, legs, and a six-pack that makes bodybuilders jealous. He's bald and his face is round, flat, and deformed, making him look like a cartoon character that hit a wall.

He's especially resistant against blunt force attacks, but his vulnerability is slashing and bleeding to death. His body is very thick, so he's not fast or dexterous. For me, the best strategy is to just avoid him and counterattack by slashing whenever an opening appears.

Alissa runs past me and stops a few dozen meters away, then carefully aims her arrows. Even for proto-Legolas, she can't hit the eyes of a moving target, so she's aiming for the neck. The other vulnerable spot would be the groin, but I'm in the way, so the neck it is.

I try to ignore it, but it's impossible, he's way too tall. The worst thing about this monster is that it's naked. A long, dangling, disgusting thing sways threateningly almost at eye-level as it comes towards me. Fuck this world.

With [Mana Control], I can put a little more or less mana into the spell and control the discharge for a second or two, so I charge up the stronger version of [ _Lightning Bolt_ ] while wrinkling my nose in disgust.

I release it, and the Ogre grunts, then decrease his speed a little. It's subtle, but I noticed that the bolt is stronger.

I cast it again, and his speed reduces even more, falling to more manageable levels.

Because of my spells, he ignores Alissa, and focuses solely on me. He gets into melee range and tries to kick, but I jump sideways and slash his leg, drawing blood.

He growls, then tries to do a sweep with his arm. I duck, and an arrow appears on his neck.

Another kick with the other leg, another dodge and a slash.

He tries to smash downwards with both hands held together, and this time, I dodge further away to get out of counterattack range.

Once his hands hit the ground, a second arrow appears next to the first.

I dash towards his blind eye, and he loses sight of me for a second. That's enough of an opening, so I charge forward and slash his flank.

I immediately run away, and he sluggishly turns towards me.

I realize this is not a good position for Alissa since the back of his neck and head are more protected than the front due to his spinal bones and thick skull. Ogres are built like tanks, it seems.

I stop and let him approach, then he tries to do an arm sweep again. Since I'm further away this time, I easily dodge and counter with a horizontal sweeping slash.

My sword sinks into his left forearm, opening a huge wound, but it's almost ripped from my hand as he yanks his arm away. I'm not sure I should do this again.

He growls even harder, and now things might amp up in difficulty. Like the Grey Berserker, he becomes faster the angrier he gets.

I circle him to give Alissa a good angle again. He remains in place while sluggishly turning, then a third arrow appears on his neck, and a considerable trickle of blood starts to seep from his wounds.

I cast Bolt again, and he twitches in pain. It's enough of an opening for a fourth arrow.

"UGOO-BLEH!" He tries to shout while punching but coughs.

His punch comes too slow and sloppy, so he gets another deep cut on his other arm. The blood starts pouring faster than the other wounds, so perhaps I cut a large vein or something?

_I need lessons in anatomy._

He protects his neck with his right arm and glares at me hatefully.

_It's kind of late now, you dumbass._

Alissa can't act, but now his actions are more limited.

He sweeps with his arm, using the back of his hand, and it creates a huge opening. I jump forward and cut near his armpit, drawing a spurt of blood.

He kicks me in response, but the angle is awkward for him. I twist my body and block with my sword. The force of his kick nearly makes me trip, but I jump backward and recover.

He becomes cautious and stops attacking.

I cut his leg once and start to circle him.

After a few laps, he sways slightly, seemingly becoming dizzy. I must've cut something important, so I'll just wait for now.

After a minute or so, his skin gets covered with vibrant blood. His punching arm slows down to a laughable speed, and his kicks completely lose accuracy. His body starts to sway heavily, and he becomes out of breath.

Then he finally falls on his ass. He's near death, but his eyes still spell anger instead of fear.

An arrow pokes his last eye.

"Ugooo…!" He lets out a weak scream.

I jump forward and slash his neck where his thick fingers aren't covering. A large amount of blood pours, and then he falls on his back.

We wait another minute in silence.

"He's dead," Alissa finally announces.

_That was fucking brutal._

As the adrenaline runs out, I start to get very anguished at the sight in front of my eyes. I clean my blade and quickly put his body on my "Items," Then I look away from the large pool of blood.

"Let's move, quickly," I order, and we jog away from here.

"Master, we shouldn't encounter anything this far…" Alissa points out, and I stop. She walks closer to me and lands a hand on my shoulder. "May I ask you a question?" She requests soberly.

I turn around to face her and reply hesitantly, "Y-yes, what is it?"

Her serious gaze turns to concern and worry. "Are you okay? Your expression changed, and your face is much darker now."

I look away from her and stay silent.

"Are you tired? Let's rest," she tries to comfort me.

"No, it's… not that…" I mumble tiredly.

"Then what is it?"

"I just..." I sigh and frown. I just don't want to admit this, but I also don't feel like forcing her to stop probing my feelings. "I feel bad about the ogre we killed."

"What?" She asks with a deliberate gentle tone to not hurt my feelings.

"He looked too human, and I didn't want to make him suffer."

"But he was a monster."

"Still…" Another sigh escapes me. I didn't want to say it like this, but I have to now. I face her and confess, "My homeland was too peaceful, so I didn't have to fight there. I'm not used to seeing so much blood, to hear the death cries of things, of… living beings that look so _human_. It makes me feel sick and guilty."

She stays silent as she reflects deeply on my words, but her gaze is still gentle and reassuring.

After a few moments, she suddenly pulls me into a hug and whispers into my ear, "That's okay, Master. Forgive me for saying this, but I'll selfishly ask for you to continue being the way you are even if it makes you suffer. I think that the realm needs people like you, someone with a truly kind and merciful heart. I'll support you, I'll help you, I'll heal you, and I'll give you my all just so you can continue being like this."

That was completely unexpected, and I don't know how to answer, so I just remain still.

_Aren't you naive? How long have you known me? It's been just a few days. No matter how close we are, or if we had sex or not, it's just not enough time for you to say things like that._

_But still… I want to believe this. I tried to throw away what held me back, but some things are harder than others. I needed someone to support and love me, so I changed, but now I want to keep this part of my humanity._

_I want to believe that she's right… No, I_ will _believe in her._

I hug her back and rest my head against her shoulder. I must not cry.

After a few minutes, I start to feel better and awkwardly break the hug. She lets me go with a slightly smug but still adorable smile.

I clear my throat and propose, "Let's go back. It's still early, but we should take another less direct route, so it'll take more time."

"Understood. Please rely on me more, Master," she obediently responds, then clenches her fist over her chest.

I nod and smile.

We move southeast with a gentle jog.

[ _Swift Foot_ ] is a really nice spell. It lets us walk almost effortlessly, so we can maintain this pace for a long time. Even in this forest full of roots and bushes, we quickly cross the obstacles without any problem.

Then Alissa gets another hit.

"Four goblins," she reports.

I knit my eyebrows in worry. "Hmm… they're increasing in number."

"Perhaps there's a nest nearby?" She supposes again.

"Let's observe them."

We get closer so we reach visual range, and we see four fully armored goblins. Two use spears, and two use swords, but all have shields.

_I don't feel comfortable using a spear against shields while outnumbered…_

They seem very aware of their surroundings, but since we're hidden in the bushes, they can't detect us. They cautiously explore forward at a very slow pace.

"They look awfully intelligent," I comment.

_Are they searching for something?_

"You think you can kill two if we ambush?" I whisper.

She matches my volume, "Unlikely; they're alert for something. One is guaranteed, the other I'm not so sure."

"We'll sync our attacks. You kill the one on the right, and I use a Bolt on the one on the left. It might stun it long enough for you to fire another arrow."

"I'll use [Muscle Explosion], but I can't use it repeatedly."

"It's alright. I'll be bait, and once the first strike is launched, you sneak around them until you have a shot. When I remove my hand from your shoulder, we attack."

She responds with a steady and unwavering voice, "Understood."

I charge the spell, then I get up and let it loose as I take my hand off her shoulder, and the forest resounds with the roar of the thunder.

The first goblin doesn't even react, it gets hit by lightning and its body locks in place for a moment, then the other goblin falls with an arrow through its temple.

The stunned goblin raises its shield to defend itself, then the brim touches the shaft of the arrow stuck through its face. It's already dead.

The two sword goblins hide behind their shields. They're teardrop-shaped and taller than mine, and with a goblin's small stature, they can easily cover their entire bodies with it.

I get in the open and wait for the goblins to come, then Alissa starts sneaking around them.

Since they're not charging forward, I have time to cast [ _Lightning Bolt_ ] again. The left goblin twitches and groans, but it doesn't fall. It's likely that the shield reduced the damage to its body.

Suddenly, the right goblin falls with an arrow poking out of its forehead. The last goblin notices it, then turns towards where the arrow came from. That's enough of a distraction; I charge forward.

I thrust towards the goblin, but it suddenly reacts and blocks, then counters. Our shields and swords get tangled in a messy battle, but we're both too cautious to score a hit on the other.

It growls and gets into a rage, then wildly tries to stab me.

Its ferocity gives me pause, and I fight defensively, but I keep it occupied so it doesn't notice Alissa.

The goblin is smaller than me, so when it foolishly decides to hide its eyes behind the shield to dodge my attack, I follow with a kick, and it staggers backward.

Its eyes lock with mine, then an arrow sinks into its temple. It winces for a second, then it goes limp and falls down.

Alissa comes back, and we inspect the bodies.

They may be armored, but it's all shitty, old, and tattered. The weapons must've been pillaged from some adventurers because they look relatively new, so they might be worth something. I grab the weapons and shields, then I cut the ears from the goblins and move towards Alissa.

"Honestly, we make a pretty good team," I happily comment.

She smiles faintly, but she sends me a worried look. "I'd prefer it if you weren't used as bait. We need another companion to act as the front line, Master. Preferably a spearman."

"Yeah, well…" I shrug.

She's not wrong. I don't really have the stats to be front line, it's just that I don't have the money. I used it all on her and her equipment, but I don't regret it, though.

We keep moving forward and meet two other duos of goblins. The first duo one isn't alert, so Alissa kills them both with ease, but the second one is, and it takes a bit more effort. By that I mean I shoot lightning twice, stunning them long enough for Alissa to finish the job.

If you don't have a shield, you're fucked against Alissa.

Then we meet a group of four Mossy Fangpines. They aren't coming directly towards us, so this means that the anti-odor powder is working. But perhaps they're searching for the trail of blood we're leaving behind us?

Killing monsters attracts more monsters, so being a good hunter takes a lot more than just winning the battle. You also have to survive the following encounters.

I start debating whether or not to fight them when Alissa gets another hit: another two-meters tall Young Ogre.

"Now, we wait. They aren't going to get too close to us, right?" I question.

She nods and agrees, "Yes, we'll be safe if we wait here. No need to endanger ourselves unnecessarily."

The two monsters end up meeting, and something interesting happens: the Fangpines attack the Ogre. We decide to move a bit closer so we can see.

With his back against a huge tree, a red-brown ogre swings his arm around while fast and small monsters dash all around him.

"Wow, can they really kill him?" I wonder.

Alissa whispers in a teaching tone, "If they can avoid getting crushed, they can certainly poison him slowly until he dies."

"Hm…" I rub my chin in thought as a dirty idea enters my mind. "Let's third-party this fight."

"'Third-party'?"

I scratch my head awkwardly. "Erm… Let's wait until the ogre is almost dead, then we jump in and kill the Fangpines."

Alissa nods, content. "Oh, I see. Yes, that sounds like a good idea."

"I want the Experience more than anything, so we need to be near the Ogre when it dies by the Fangpines."

Her expression instantly turns serious. "I see. Once he starts to move slower, we should get closer and prepare for the ambush. I'll warn you once his movement pattern changes."

"Alright," I agree and nod. Alissa has better eyesight, so she'll be able to notice this detail easily.

The fight takes a while. The Ogre gets bitten multiple times, but he just can't catch the Fangpines as they're smart enough to let go before they're crushed. I see the ogre growing hair all over its body. It's stiff, slightly green hair, the spikes from the Fangpines.

The fight could be said to be entertaining if I was into blood sports. The orc is surrounded, and the Fangpines maintain a continuous attack towards his blind spots. The small monsters get plenty of close calls, but none of them get hit even once, a testament to their nimbleness.

The ogre stops trying to punch and kick them, then he tries to grab their heads when they come for a bite.

"The Fangpines are salivating, I think they're starving," Alissa comments.

_Makes sense. The culling removed food sources, and the ogres are the ones who are moving in, so they became the new targets of the predators here. Though a huge monster like an ogre becoming "prey" seems "wrong," somehow._

Suddenly, the Ogre stomps behind him, and the head of a Fangpine becomes mush.

"Oh!" Alissa whispers in surprise.

The Ogre managed to predict the attack, but I think it was pure luck.

"The rest of the body is still valuable, so it's a good thing that it was only the head," I remark.

It takes around ten minutes, but the Ogre's movements finally start to slow down.

"It's time," Alissa reports.

We sneak forward, and I manage to catch a better view of the battle. I can finally see the Fangpines, and they're all out of breath and salivating.

_Just how much saliva can they produce?_

"You take the one on the right, and I'll stun the one on the left. Same thing, hand on shoulder," I order, and she nods obediently.

The ogre falls to his knees, then I charge my spell, get up, and take my hand off her shoulder.

Thunder roars through the forest again, then a Fangpine rolls on the ground as smoke comes out of his body, and another dies with an arrow through its eye. The last one turns around and charges towards me without hesitation.

_Really vicious, these pieces of shit._

The monster jumps towards me, and I skewer it with my crude goblin spear. The body falls heavily on me, but I can deal with it, just barely.

With a grunt of effort, I throw the spear, and it falls a few meters away. While it writhes in agony, an arrow sinks into its throat.

It screams like a wounded dog and writhes, then I draw my sword and dash forward.

The zapped Fangpine weakly gets up, then an arrow ends its life.

I kneel and stab down, and my sword sinks into the Fangpine's head, ending its life.

I immediately get up and dislodge my sword, then I turn around and see that the ogre is still on his knees, but his eyes can barely maintain focus.

"Ugoo~..." He lets out a faint moan.

I dash and slash his neck. He doesn't even resist, and I open a deep wound that lets a stream of blood pour out.

He falls on his back, then he dies after a minute.

"You're now level 11."

I collect the ogre and Fangpines.

"I leveled up," I dryly say.

Alissa grabs my hand and reassures me, "That's good. Our plan was perfect."

"Indeed," I whisper and smile, trying to remove the image of the dying ogre from my mind. "Let's move. I have something to think about, so I'll just follow you."

"Understood, Master," she obediently responds and takes the lead.

My skills are like this now:

Wolf Ryder Skill Report  
  
---  
  
Physical  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Sword Use | 6+2 | Dodge | 2+4 | Parry | 1+4  
Block | 2+4 | Shield Bash | 0+1  
  
Magical  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Mana Efficiency | 4+0 | Mana Recovery | 3+0 | Reduced Mana Cost | 3+0  
Mana Control | 4+0 | Electric Magic | 5+0 | Nature Magic | 5+0  
Blessing Magic | 10+0  
  
Miscellaneous  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Andraste Language | 10+0 | Dismantling | 0+1  
  
The next level, I'm increasing my melee skills. Possibly [Block] and [Sword Use].

We're past half the way back, so we turn towards the north-east. We're likely to exit the forest near our point of entry this way.

The trees slowly thin out, and no more encounters are found, then we exit the forest.

"I think we're a few minutes south of the farm," Alissa estimates.

"Yeah, let's just go north along the road."

"Want to ride me again?" Alissa suggests with an innocent smile.

"No man will ever say no to that," I reply and smirk mischievously.

She takes a moment to understand, then she starts blushing. "What…? Ah, M-Master!"

I shrug. "You set yourself up, don't blame me for easy pickings."

She whimpers softly and pouts.

"Let's go," she mumbles embarrassedly and transforms into a fox.

The farms are surprisingly orderly, so there's always a sign telling their names, and a road leading to the manor, making it easy to find the house of our employers.

We find the sign for the Woodwick Ranch, then Alissa enters the trail towards the manor. It's made of packed dirt, so Alissa kicks up some dust.

The large golden plantations of something similar to wheat pass by our sides in a blur as Alissa dashes down the road. Moments like these remind me of road trips, making me feel nostalgic.

After a few minutes, we reach the manor. The plantation opens up, and I see a large blue and purple three-story house. It's timber-framed with purple beams and blue stone, which is a rather odd choice of color. The stones and the logs aren't painted, so perhaps they're found in the valley north of here.

A large grass garden surrounds the house, and I see a not-apple tree with a swing and a clothesline at the front; far behind the house, there's an enclosure where the livestock grazes; like a golden wall, the plantations surround all sides of this open field.

We make our way towards the porch, where a pale old man in simple clothes is dozing off.

He hears Alissa's footsteps, and opens his eyes, then jumps out of his cushioned chair from the odd sight of a large fox being ridden by a young boy quickly approaching.

"Oooh! Oh…? OH!" The man lets out multiple sounds as his brain processes what his eyes see. "YOU BE THE HIRED HUNTERS!?" He yells excitedly.

_Why yell? We are coming, so just wait for us to get near._

Alissa slows down near the porch, then I dismount.

I clear my throat and serenely greet him, "Yes, we're the Helios fellowship."

The guild has a variety of ways of contacting people when someone accepts a request. Like magic stones, spirit messaging, telepathy, summons, and many others. Depends on the price paid.

Our employers chose a homing carrier-pigeon, so they should've gotten word of us an hour or two after we accepted their request. We could've reached this place faster than the pigeon if we came directly without searching the forest, though.

Alissa transforms back and I return her weapons.

The old man grins and laughs excitedly, "Ohohoho. How nice, a wereanimal. Impressive, too…" -His excitement suddenly fades and he clears his throat awkwardly- "Erm, anyway, you're here to spend the night, right?"

I nod and politely answer, "Yes. We were roaming the Sea of Trees, but we didn't find the Oodogloo."

He clicks his tongue. "That would be some damn luck if you found it like that, but did you find anything interesting, instead?"

"Two Young Ogres and a bunch of goblins. There might be a goblins' nest nearby because we found a squad of four that were well-armed and intelligent."

He claps his hands and scowls. "AH! The little shits made another nest! You're going to report this to the guild right?"

I twitch and almost recoil from his overly-energetic demeanor. "Yeah, but only tomorrow."

He waves his arm dismissively. "Eh, that's fine. We can find a passing traveler to send word or something." Then he goes inside the house, and a scream suddenly booms through the entire house, "OI, BELTA! THE WHACKERS ARE HERE!"

"I HEAR YE!" A female voice screams back.

I knit my eyebrows and whisper to Alissa, "Whackers?"

She obediently instructs me with her teaching tone, "Slang. Farmers always have to keep hiring hunters to kill pests that come back all the time, so they started calling it 'whacking' monsters instead of 'exterminating' them." She shrugs.

A chubby, round-faced, and well-tanned woman appears. Then we see a girl which is a mini version of the woman and a pale-faced boy coyly hiding behind the stairs.

The woman smiles brightly and greets, "Ah, welcome. You must be the Helios duo, am I right?"

"Yes, that's us." I nod respectfully.

She motions for us to come in and returns the nod. "Enter, please. I'll make you some tea and we can wait until my husband comes back. He's at the nearby farms sending word you came."

The Oodogloo might attack a random farm, so the man must be warning the other farms to come here if the monster appears tonight. They'll likely stand guard all night, waiting for it.

Belta lays out for us a simple weak tea with a little bit of sugar and some simple nice cookies. Alissa gracefully eats the snacks, showing more class than I do, and making me feel like a smelly adventurer. The tea and cookies are pretty good, though, so they're worth the awkwardness.

As we tell the woman of our small survey of the forest, a small, wide, and pale man suddenly comes in. He seems to be a man of excess. Excess black hair on his head, excess hair on his chin, excess fat in his belly, and excess muscles in his arms. I see a shortsword hanging on his waist, which should be enough to keep the usual naked goblin away, but not much else.

He doesn't want to make small talk, so we immediately discuss the simple plan for the night. We'll stand guard near the livestock and sleep in turns. The other farms have a bell alarm system, so when the monster is sighted, they'll sound the alarm. The monster will run from the alarm, but since we have a tracker, we can follow its trail.

Then we continue our tale of the expedition until dusk comes. The woman lends her bathtub to us, and we're very thankful for that since bucket baths are quite awful, then she invites us for dinner, and we fill our bellies with a simple but tasty meal. After that, we leave the house to stand guard.

I look up into the night sky and get stunned at the sight. I see a giant moon with a storm of colors raging all over its surface. Each blotch of color is in constant movement, changing every few seconds to another random color. They create waves and crash against each other, causing ripples upon ripples, like a lake's surface under the rain.

Then I notice seven smaller moons, each a different color of the rainbow, orbiting the bigger moon at a visible speed. They seem to make a full turn every minute, which is blindingly fast for a celestial body.

_Are they even actual moons?_

"Hm? What is it, Master?" Alissa curiously whispers.

_Just what the fuck is this? Why a rainbow? Why is the moon… moons so different from the sun? I slept two days under the night sky and didn't even notice this? Oh, yeah, it was cloudy…_

"I'm just wondering why is the sun so simple and the moons so colorful," I casually lie.

She laughs girlishly. "What kind of thoughts are you having? The sun is the same as the moons, but he gives us light instead of life."

I blink repeatedly in surprise and look at her. "Wait, what? Remember, I'm very ignorant about things."

Her ears go flat and her posture shrinks shyly. "Oh, I'm sorry, Master." -She quickly recomposes herself and assumes her teaching tone again- "Well, scholars have found that the sun looks the same as the moons. The God of the Sun gives us light to work during the day, but with that, we can't see him properly. The Goddess of the Moons gives us a blessing that replenishes our life, increasing our HP and MP recovery during the night. This is why we sleep when she's watching over us: it's so our recovery is even greater."

_Well, at least it ain't just some boring old rock._

I look back at the moon and imagine what an acid trip would be to land there. "But why does the moon look like this storm of color, and why are these seven smaller moons orbiting it?"

"That is the Goddess' avatar in our realm. We don't know exactly why it looks like this, and it's said that we can't really understand something that is above our existence. I think I heard that the smaller moons and colors are said to represent 'aspects' of the god. What 'aspects' are, I don't know, so you should ask a priest." She shrugs.

I'll need some time to process this, so I motion for us to keep moving.

The livestock grazing area covers a large corner of the backyard, and we set up camp as far as we can from it so Alissa doesn't suffer from the smell. Her nose is quite sensitive.

I tell her that I'll switch [Blessing Magic] for [Summoning Magic], then I put ten points in it.

The spells of this magic school give me a ball of light that I can throw to summon things, so it kind of feels like I'm using pocket monsters. If I put a little more "effort" in summoning when I press the "cast" button inside my mind, I can instantly call a summon in a small radius around me.

I press the [ _Summon Dog_ ] spell in my mind, then force a German Shepherd to appear beside me, and Alissa coos in wonder and claps.

With that, half of my MP is consumed and my max MP is reduced by one fourth. This is quite an improvement in comparison to the bird I summoned for the first time.

I keep the dog's hearing sense, and tell it to patrol the farms in search of the Oodogloo's scent, which is ammonia. If it finds the monster, then it should bark for a while to warn me and the farms, and also chase after it if it runs away.

I take the first watch and put down an hourglass. It'll mark one hour, and once I turn it three times, I'll switch with Alissa. It's kinda sad to see her sleep alone, but it'll be even sadder when it's my turn.

My watch goes without a problem, and I practice my [Mana Control] while staring at the moons, then I wake up Alissa and switch with her.

This tent is cold, not physically, but it makes my heart feel cold. I just want to sleep hugging my cute fox.

I wake up to the sound of angry barking. Through my dog's eyes, I can see it staring intensely at some weird, black humanoid outline frozen in fear. The dog's vision is monochrome and poor, but there's no mistaking it, that's the Oodogloo.

"Alissa! The dog!" I exclaim.

She's in front of the tent, maintaining my sword, and she immediately stores the oil in her [ _Item Box_ ], then hands me our weapons and turns into a fox.

In a hurry, I sheath my sword, strap on my shield, store the tent and sleeping bag on my "Items," grab her equipment, and mount her.

"To the Jolly Ranch!" I command, and she darts forward.

Even though Alissa can see well in the moonlight, I can't, so I add one point to [Light Magic] and cast [ _Spirit Light_ ]. A small, light-blue, glowing ball appears above my head and illuminates the whole field with eerie colored light.

_This color really makes me feel like it's a "spirit" light._

A minute later, Alissa casts her own [ _Spirit Light_ ], but hers is white, and it reduces the spooky air caused by mine.

The dog stops barking, and I start to hear the bells being rung from the farmhouses.

I cut the hearing sense, then I turn on the olfact, and I immediately sense the ammonia.

Suddenly, the shape turns away and runs into the plantation. The dog gives chase but keeps its distance.

I take my melee skills off and put them on [Blessing Magic], then I cast [ _Swift Foot_ ] on Alissa, and she speeds up a lot. We fly through the dirt roads between the plantations as she runs with the wind.

She shakes so much that it becomes rather uncomfortable for me, but the trip only lasts a few minutes, and we reach our destination.

The bells all around the neighboring farms quickly reach full blast, creating a painfully loud cacophony.

Like a fellowship bond, I know at all times the direction and distance my summoned dog is, so I guide Alissa into the plantation.

"I got his scent!" She suddenly announces.

It's a bad idea to fight it in the middle of the plantation, so we slow down and wait until it enters another open field.

I switch my points back into combat mode. I also won't be able to use the spear this time, not unless I want the Oodogloo to use a tentacle to steal it from my hands and use it against me.

After a minute of painfully running through the middle of the plantation, we enter another backyard. We can see another manor to the side and a dark humanoid figure awkwardly running away with the dog chasing a few meters away.

I dismiss the summon and see it instantly turn into a cloud of smoke that completely disappears in a few seconds, then I cast [ _Lightning Bolt_ ] at the Oodogloo and hit its back.

The figure falls, then Alissa slows down and keeps her distance.

_Not yet._

The figure gets up and starts to run away. I cast [ _Lightning Bolt_ ] again, now with the full power of level three [Mana Control]. The figure falls again, but it doesn't get up, and its shape starts to melt.

"Now!" I give the signal.

Alissa stops and I dismount, then put her equipment on the ground.

As she shifts back to humanoid, I unsheathe my sword and jog towards the enemy.

I hear a commotion near the manor, but I ignore it. They won't help us because they could get in the way, so they just leave it to the "pros." The farmhands can deal with the occasional naked goblin, but this monster is way above their level.

I cast [ _Lightning Bolt_ ] again to provoke it, then the now unidentified black mass comes in our direction.

"OOOOO...duh… GLOOOOO!" It lets out a long and dull scream.

This sound is what gave it its name. This ridiculous slime who wishes to be human tries to imitate our vocal cords, but it can only let out this silly sound. It runs away whenever it sees an enemy, but can it be enraged if provoked repeatedly, then it loses its human form and attacks with the bones it has inside.

The slime reaches our Lights, and we see its transparent gooey mass sliding forward at a frightening speed. An amalgamation of human bones floats inside it, constantly moving in a wild storm, reflecting the slime's mood.

An arrow sinks into the slime with a watery "thunk" sound.

I cast [ _Lightning Bolt_ ] again and it convulses wildly, stopping its advance for a second. Another two arrows enter it, and the slime starts losing liquid like a leaky water balloon.

A tentacle shoots out like a bullet, and I block it with my shield, then my shield resonates loudly. Its attacks are tough like a hammer strike.

I counter with a slash but it whiffs, the slime is just too fast.

I dodge a few smaller and slower tentacles, then a third and a fourth arrow creates more places for it to leak.

I see a thick tentacle is forming, telegraphing a massive attack. I grit my teeth and charge [ _Lightning Bolt_ ].

The next moment, a huge tentacle flies towards me, and I release my Bolt. The shield resonates again and I stumble backward as my shoulder flares with pain.

I steady my feet, then I jump forward and chop without even looking.

My sword sinks into the huge, convulsing tentacle and splits it in two, then a large amount of liquid and a variety of human bones drop from the wound.

It uses a mass of bones like a sledgehammer, while the small, pointy ones are used as piercing weapons. Fortunately, the small tentacles aren't as powerful as the large one.

Grievously wounded, the slime tries to run. It's leaking water from everywhere, and Alissa continues free-firing, increasing the number of holes.

I cast a short [ _Lightning Bolt_ ], stunning it again, and I take the opportunity to attack.

I slash open an even bigger wound than the one before, then its whole body wriggles in panic, and an uncountable number of little tentacles appear on the surface of the slime.

I dive backward and the tentacles absolutely fill the area where I just was.

I immediately get up and start retreating, keeping my distance from it.

The slime tries to chase, but it has lost too much water, and its surface has become wrinkly, greatly reducing its speed.

For the next half minute, it tries a desperate last effort to hurt me, but it has trouble moving due to the number of arrows poking out of its entire body.

The tentacles lose power and speed, then the slime finally stops moving.

Everything becomes completely silent as the bells stop ringing, then I see seven heads peeking out of the windows of the manor.

"Fuck yeah! It's dead!" I cheer and throw my arms up.

Alissa laughs girlishly, then I hear cheering from the manor.

We collect the bones and the remaining slime skin, then we give a short greeting to the family inside the manor, and the man of the house gives me a bottle of wine as thanks for dealing with this pesky monster. I don't drink, but Alissa whispers for me to accept it, so I try to do it graciously.

Then we leave and return to the manor of our contractor. Belta is ecstatic, and her husband gives me a painful pat on the back then laughs with a booming voice. Alissa squirms from seeing my pain but says nothing this time.

They let us stay the night in the guest room, which has two single beds, but we can't stand to sleep separately anymore, so we crowd on a single one. It's a little hot and cramped, but we manage to fit in.

"Honestly, I don't see any problem with our teamwork. We do well together," I comment.

"Aside from you being in the front," Alissa responds worriedly. "I can see you struggling to defend against the monsters' attacks. No shield-bearer should struggle so much."

I awkwardly massage my neck."Well… I'd already decided to train my body and skills more. With this reward, we can spend a good time training without worrying about hunting monsters. Also, I'll level up soon, and that should help a lot."

Alissa pouts and retorts. "Still, I don't think I'll ever be comfortable with you in the front line. Your talent is magic, so you shouldn't need to spend so much time training melee." She lazily traces her finger on my chest as she talks.

I smile warmly at her. "Your concern makes me happy, but my real advantage is versatility. We just have to hold on and be careful for a while longer," I reassure her and kiss her nose.

"A while longer…" She repeats, then she kisses my lips lightly.

After some light kissing, she breaks it and turns her face away.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Hm…" She pouts again, and I see her tail is swaying.

She stays silent for a few seconds, then she moves down, below the covers. I feel my pants going down, then something warm and wet wraps around my dick.

She's really good at this, so I don't last long again.

**Intermission 1**

Now I'm sure that Master is someone special. He's a kind and calm, but a completely different person in bed; he has the knowledge and curiosity of a child, but the wisdom of someone much older; he has mercy and compassion for monsters, but the resolve to keep fighting. Those aren't things you find among the common man, but those are things that must be protected.

Master is alone, that much I'm sure, but I'll do what I can to fill that hole. I'm already happy enough that he depends on me in battle and in bed, but I'll show him I can do much more. Even though I know he's letting out his lust on me, I'm content with being able to help with this. Once the lust subsides, his heart will be ready for a deeper bond with mine.

He tries to look collected and composed, but I know he's anxious about something, and he has no one to confide on, so I can only try my best to lower his burdens. He doesn't trust me enough to tell me his secrets, but I'll support him regardless until he opens up one day.

I thought that my endurance training would be wasted living such a lavish lifestyle, but now I know it's merely going to be used in a different way than what I'd imagined. His mind is fragile and precious, his will is so strong he's bound to hurt himself, and his code of honor will soon have him face the wicked, which will leave a wound on his soul. All I wish for is the ability to support him through whatever destiny the Gods have for him. I'll stay by his side, no matter what.


	6. Expedition

The body of the slime is worth five silver; the Young Ogres and Fangpines are worth four and one silver each, respectively; and the reward for the extermination is forty silver, which is quite high because the Oodogloo is an incredibly annoying enemy to find.

The usual strategy for dealing with this annoying slime is to have one person at each farm waiting for it, then use a signal flare when the monster is found. This is a dangerous strategy because a single person will try to engage the monster and keep it occupied until more people arrive. To defeat it in a single night with just two people is a commendable feat, and with that… my fame gets annoyingly higher.

For two days, I do nothing but abuse Alissa after waking up and during the bath, train [Sense Mana] and [Mana Control] in the morning, and spar with someone who isn't Toga in the afternoon.

I buy a tea set and try to teach Alissa how to make tea, but she's more of an expert in that than I, so I just let her do her own thing. We find the not-earl-grey I drank once in a tea shop near the temple, and then we get some cheap cookies to go with it, so my mood improves a lot in these two days.

My [Block] increased by 2 (now 2+6) and [Parry] increased by 1 (now 1+5) from the sparring, but it's exhausting to fight so much, so I don't think I can keep up training like this for long.

Surprisingly, I easily learn [Sense Mana] with 2 points and [Mana Control] with 3 points. I think the magic skills are easier because I already have a lot of contact with magic on a daily basis, so this is just a solidification of my foundations.

Spending an entire morning hugging Alissa while she practices her [Mana Control] is heavenly, though. I wish we could do it every day, but today we need to go to the guild, and I notice that she seems a little disappointed when I tell her that.

We enter the guild and start checking the requests, but "coincidentally," there's an annoying duo waiting for us. Something tells me that certain people have a second house inside the guild.

"Yoo! Ryder!" A familiar and annoying voice calls to me. I turn around and see Simon, the leader of the creatively named fellowship Swift Wind. "Join me~, mate. There's an Orc Lord request 5 days away. With your girl, we can find him in a day or two, so it'll be eeeasy money!"

This time, Targua isn't here but there's someone else to annoy me.

"Do you want to kill him, Mr. Simon? Orc Lord is a monster of threat level six!" Dennis exclaims, astonished. He's a wealthy-looking, black-robed mage from the fellowship Thunder Storm. His normally disheveled black hair and beard look even more disheveled when he talks to Simon, making him seem "unhinged" to me.

Simon is unfazed by the mage's intense glare. "We got enough firepower to deal with even a dragon around here, we just lack a tracker like the fox lass." -he points to Alissa and smirks roguishly- "You don't even have to do anything mate, just order her around and we can even carry your ass!" Then he laughs out loud.

Dennis' eyes twitch, bewildered and annoyed, but he reigns it back almost perfectly. "Mr. Ryder isn't a greedy person like you, he has potential and I can give him the support he needs." -Then he spins on his heels and gives me his wild, intense stare- "Mr. Ryder, join me, and we can grow far together!"

Dennis seems to have heard the tale of how I used [Electric Magic] to stun the slime during its heavy attack so that I could counter immediately. He has a "thing" for electricity, which means I'm like a flame to this weirdo moth.

He wants to work close to me as a duo of sword and magic, but he has an annoyingly strong sense of duty and justice. He also wants to be the leader of the party, and by looking at his two tired-looking companions, I don't think that's a good idea.

I hold back a sigh and try to be a bit diplomatic, so I gently apologize and firmly decline, "Sorry guys, I want to work slowly on my own with Alissa. I still have my own personal reasons to not join a bigger party, but one of these reasons is that I want to take things _safe_ and _slow_."

"What a shame, mate," Simon grumbles and shakes his head as he walks away.

"Be sure of this, Mr. Ryder: stay true to the right path, and we'll surely meet one day in glory," Dennis states and bows, then also leaves.

_What…?_

I think he's a bit crazy. I have no idea what the hell he means by that. Alissa's still looking at the request board, but I can see she's discreetly facepalming.

"Persistent…" She mutters with a hint of anger, her tail stiff and upright.

I smile wryly and turn around.

_I think I'll take a day off from training, and maybe tomorrow we'll look again for work more seriously._

An attendant posts a new request and it catches my attention.

"Alissa, you know about the Moon Turtles?" I casually ask.

She follows my gaze and reads the request I'm looking at. She seems mildly intrigued by it as she recollects what she knows. "I don't know where the Moon Turtles are found around here, but I know they're an easy kill inside a dungeon," she confidently states and starts recollecting, "They can only attack by pushing out spikes from their shells, but they move so slowly it's trivial to blind them, and then they're barely a threat anymore."

I rub my chin in thought. "What about this request? Do you think it's doable?"

"That's going to depend on luck. Not every turtle has Moonlight Moss."

The request I'm interested in is a gathering one, where the requester wants an escort to where the Turtles can be found. It pays two gold coins as a reward, and since the Turtles are so easy to kill, so I assume that it's the journey there that's likely to be the problem.

The requester is a mage, so they'll help fight monsters and kill the turtles, but we'll still need to keep the area secure ourselves since collecting the moss is a very delicate process.

The kill rewards will be spread evenly among all members, and the pay is kind of high, but I guess our profits will depend on how long it's going to take to collect all this moss. Still, this is a pretty attractive request, so I better take it before someone else does.

"I think it'll be okay," Alissa assures me and gives my hand a loving squeeze. "As long as we avoid being surrounded, no enemy inside the caves can catch us if we use an Escape Bomb to retreat. It's really rare to find a monster that resists it."

Her words are a little bit reassuring, but just to be thorough, I'll research the cave monsters around this area. I haven't looked into them yet because I didn't think I'd enter a cave on the Sea of Trees.

It's the dungeoneering library that saved my life so far. The Orc Headhunter, the goblin squad intelligence pattern, the Mandrakes, the Bush Babies, the Young Ogres, the Mossy Fangpines, and the Oodogloo. All these enemies I knew their attack patterns and their weaknesses, which allowed me to create strategies that maximized my safety and guaranteed a kill.

The hunt for the Oodogloo was the prime example of that. My instant counter was possible because I knew it had a predictable heavy attack and that it was extremely vulnerable to slashing weapons. I could've assumed these things on the fly just from observing, but it's just waay easier when you know what to expect. Even the dance around the Young Ogre was only possible because I researched first.

"Excuse me, when is the scheduled negotiation for this request?" I ask the usual older brunette attendant.

On requests like these, there's a "negotiation" that will happen at a predefined time and place once the requester is informed that a hunter is interested in fulfilling the request.

"Tomorrow morning. The meeting will be here at one of our rooms," she answers with a kind smile.

_So I only have one day to prepare. Also, it's possible that the requester will ask to depart immediately._

I think for just a moment before I make the decision, "Alright, send the message that we're interested in this request." Then I turn to Alissa. "I'll go to the dungeoneering guild and research the cave monsters. What about you, do you want to do something by yourself?"

"Hm…" She murmurs, and frowns gently, looking troubled.

She has been glued to my side every day since I bought her. Not that I dislike it since I'm the super clingy one, but I think that it's best for her to do what she wants once in a while. I learned how important this was from Lily.

_I may have abandonment issues…_

She looks at me like an abandoned puppy, and I almost immediately cave in. Cuteness is my weakness.

I pass my will saving throw and add, "If you don't ask you'll never ever leave my side ever again because I'm very clingy, but you should because it's good for your mental health to have some private time for yourself. Believe me, I have experience in this matter."

"Experience…?" She asks confusedly.

I look down and rub the back of my head. "Well it's… a matter I can't tell in detail." -I look at her and smile apologetically- "Sorry you'll just have to believe me."

_I don't want to talk about Lily right now._

She pouts shyly and relents, "Okay… but I don't know what I could do by myself." Then she tilts her head, and like always, it melts my heart.

I list a few ideas, "There's the juice that I always forget to buy, there are more tea and cookies that you could search for, there's the dress that I wanted to buy for you that might be better if you just choose something for yourself, there are the bookstores where you could find a book you're interested in, there's just sightseeing or looking into the Flea Market or those crazy magic tool shops. Oh, there's the theater, and I have no idea what's being played over there, so I'd like to know more about it. Well, two things are my requests, but there's plenty that you can do."

Her ears suddenly perk up. "How about spending time in the training grounds?" She asks with an innocent smile, her tail wagging lazily.

I frown worriedly. "That's… not relaxing though, find something to relax that isn't just training," I plead.

_You'll make me feel guilty from taking it easy if you're always training._

She smiles a bit smugly. "But you're going to read books to prepare, isn't that considered work?"

_Ya cheeky…_

I narrow my eyes reprovingly. "Just barely, and I kind of enjoy the books. There are the combat reports, the beautiful drawings, and even a few anatomy lessons."

"Ooh, is that so? Maybe I should also read them and help with the research!" She smiles and claps her hands, her tail is wagging.

_Heh, this girl…_

I relent and decide to just accept her submissiveness, "Then I'll at least ask you to buy cheap juice, tea, and look a bit for clothing before joining me, ok?"

"Understood, master," she smiles and nods diligently.

The juice and tea are for me, the clothing is also for me but also for her. Which middle-ages girl dislikes shopping for clothes?

_I actually wanted to go to Ciel and ask about the moon…_

So, I kind of don't want to go inside those caves. It's not like I have a phobia or something, I just fucking hate spiders…

The most common enemy over there is the Giant Tarantula, so things start just peachy. It's extremely territorial, so there's no way we won't fight one inside these caves.

They block the entrances with transparent webs, and once you get caught in one, the more you move, the more it wraps. The only fast way out is to set it on fire and possibly burn yourself to escape.

The webs are very elastic and sticky, so swinging a sword is useless, but swinging a spare spear or just a long stick to get the web to wrap on it is the best way to clear the way. The progress will be slow, but it's better than nothing.

A common strategy is to have the one in full plate to just walk into them with a torch in hand. Things might get hot, but only if they walk too fast.

That's just to get near. The Tarantula itself is a heavy monster that pounces on its prey and injects them with a fast-acting venom that's difficult to dispel. The tarantula doesn't normally prey on people, so the venom isn't as effective as it is on the Tarantula's favorite food: goblins. Though a person's limb could still become paralyzed for an average of five minutes if injected with the venom.

Both goblins and Tarantula's love caves, making the latter the natural predator of the former, and once the Giant Tarantula eats enough, goblins it evolves into the Arachne race of monsters, a half-human woman, half-spider monster. There is a report of a demon race who looks like the Arachne monster, but it's only a rumor. The only reason it's mentioned in the book is to prevent adventurers from accidentally killing a fellow humanoid.

The Arachne is highly intelligent and cunning, but it's like a deranged human who can only torture, kill, and eat. It's even more frightening than the Tarantula because they toy with their prey. They are adept at sneaking and illusion magic, and they like to slowly poison the enemy from afar with things like small traps and thrown weapons, then attack when they're weakened.

_I'll need [Mental Resistance] for this, and I think that I should just tell Alissa about my skill system manipulation so that I can also give her [Mental Resistance]._

An enemy to look out for is the Sludge, a parent of the slime-type monsters. It's a mass of living feces, mud, and blood, it's basically the janitor of the caves. It's vulnerable to fire, and it'll harden when heated but slow down. This makes them more vulnerable to attacks, otherwise, they move too fast and can completely overwhelm a person by absorbing them inside their disgusting bodies. They're much bigger than normal slimes and even special ones like the Ooodogloo, so they're hard to kill and even harder to escape.

Another common monster is the Giant Mole. They used to keep creating and destroying the tunnel system inside the Ant Hill, but when they broke into a dungeon they stopped digging, allowing the tunnels to be mapped. They destroyed the tunnels precisely to keep humanoids from doing that, but it's unknown why they stopped

They're aggressive and move by sound, so while it's easy to deal with a lone Mole, they can call for more, which creates a chain reaction until the party is overwhelmed and wiped out. The usual strategy is to kill one and then retreat unless someone is capable of assassinating the Mole before it can call for its allies.

Through the fellowship bond, I sense that Alissa has entered the building, so I go downstairs and see that she's at the lobby, carrying an earthenware jar and a cloth bag.

When our eyes meet, she lets out a sweet smile that melts my heart.

I get closer to her and smell something sweet and fruity coming from the jar. "Oooh. Is that the juice? What is it from?" I eagerly ask, then she hands me the jar, and I store it in my "Items."

"Gorgon fruit. I didn't know what fruit you liked, so I got something that tastes mild," she diligently responds, then waits for my reaction.

Gorgon fruit is a small blue berry with a white pulp that looks like an eye. Its taste reminds me of blueberry and lychee.

I smile apologetically. "Ah yes, I actually forgot to tell you about that, my bad, but this is a good choice."

She smiles proudly then becomes bashful, and her tail wags slowly. "And… I also bought some clothes…" She suddenly pulls me closer. "There's something for the night," she whispers into my ear, making my heart tingle.

I did give her too much for a single dress, so I was wondering if she was going to bring an expensive dress or not. I guess things ended up just right for me.

I pull her bag into my "Items," then I bring her to my research station. I'm looking through multiple books, like the dungeoneering advice book, the local monsters book, the local caves book, the local dungeons book, and two other monster books. The first gives more in-depth battle reports about the monsters and their anatomies, while the second gives dismantling tips to maximize profits.

While Alissa curiously inspects the books, I continue my research.

The Moon Turtles live inside the dungeon that the moles dug into, which is called Spiral Springs. The Turtles got this name because the Moonlight Moss that grows on their backs glows when the moon is full.

They're slow but sturdy, they breathe jets of fire or water as offensive means, and they grow spikes on their flanks if attacked. The best way to kill them is to fire inside their mouth once they start breathing or to slowly chip away at their sturdy necks while being careful of the spikes. But since Alissa is such a good shot, it's going to be an eye-popping galore.

The path to get to the Moon Turtles is a pain. First, there's the wall of tarantulas; then there are the hunting grounds where the arachnes like to prey, which are large open spaces where they can freely move above intruders and away from danger; third, there's the maze of mole tunnels, where even if we pass through the shortest path, we'll certainly have to backtrack when we meet a Mole; and finally, we have to cross the dungeon to get to where the Turtles are, which is filled with Spriggans.

The last enemy we're likely to encounter are these Spriggans, devilish imps that inhabit Spiral Springs. They like to sneak about, play pranks, and set traps. They're one and a half meter tall, male-only, human-looking monsters who have green skin, thin arms, and bark that grows from a variety of spots, which serves as armor for them.

The bark that grows on their head is even cut and fashioned as if it's a hairstyle. An elven tale tells of a Spriggan haircut contest where the elves would hunt Spriggans to find the one with the most ridiculous "haircut."

They aren't the kind that immediately goes for the kill, they'll use hit and run tactics with increasing frequency the deeper we go until we reach the floor of the Turtles. The Spriggans and the Turtles hate each other, so they avoid meeting whenever possible, making the floor of the Turtles a kind of "safe area."

The Spriggans will first try to steal, then they'll annoy and torment, followed by increasingly violent raids until they finally fight to kill once the party is tired. To deal with these imps, we'll have to be always ready to retaliate immediately with deadly force. The more Spriggans we kill, the slower they increase their attacks, and the less they'll try to torment us.

They won't be that big of a problem since Alissa can easily keep them at bay, and I can just increase her [Sense Presence] skill if she's having trouble detecting them.

So, the expedition will likely take three or four days. Starting from the entrance of the Ant Hill, it'll take one day for us to cross the caves and to reach Spiral Springs. After spending the night at the entrance, it'll take half a day to go down to the floor of the turtle and another half to do our business there, we hope. The turtles themselves will be easy to kill, but we don't know how long it'll take to collect all the moss. Then, on the third day, we'll make our way back with ease since we'll have an open path to follow.

The shitty part is crossing the territory of the Moles, and it might be safer if we just leg it, otherwise, we could be backed into a corner with the Spriggans on one side, and the enraged Moles at the other.

I trace a path for us to take and copy the maps. There are multiple routes to the dungeon that we can take and even more routes from there to the floor of the Turtles, but in the end, it's just luck if the route will be good or not.

"Wooah," Alissa coos in wonder. "All these anatomy drawings are so interesting. Now I'm sure I can kill any Tarantula and Arachne that I find. I'm glad I came." She smiles and gently sways her head from side to side in excitement, making her hair and fox ears bob.

_What kind of girl gets so excited when talking about killing giant spiders and a giant half-spider, half-humans? No, not even the average adventurer likes spiders._

I smile warmly and shrug as I say, "Well, I was going to share the info with you anyway, but I guess this is fine since now I don't have to explain things to you."

Just as we finish eating our dinner at the inn, Selina comes to talk to us.

"Hello, Mr. Ryder," she greets with her usual bright smile.

I motion her to the free chair, then Alissa and I both greet her back in kind.

She delicately sits down like a lady and asks with barely contained curiosity, "Father said you're going to leave on an expedition again, is that true?"

I nod and explain, "I'll meet with the employer tomorrow to negotiate the terms, but we're likely to depart immediately."

Alissa adds on, mirroring Selina's excitement, "Miss Selina, we're going to the Spiral Springs at the Ant Hill. We're going to meet arachnes and Spriggans!" She exclaims as her fox ears twitch and her tail wag. Selina and she shared a few conversations these last few days and have become quite friendly to each other.

"Oh! Bring me a Spriggan head with a nice haircut, I want one for my room," she innocently asks and lets out the sweetest smile.

_Girl, just...What in the fuck._

Alissa turns to me and gives me expectant eyes.

"Uh… sure, you pick the one we bring back. I'll just store it in my [ _Item Box_ ]," I respond coolly, trying not to show my disgust.

_I don't want to be the one to give to a girl the head of a humanoid monster as a gift._

Alissa gives a quick bow. "Thank you, master." Then she turns to the cute blonde waitress. "I'll surely bring you a great one, Selina. I heard that Arachne eyes are also red and shiny, so maybe we'd encounter a nice pair."

_What is this conversation, I'm glad I already finished eating._

Selina giggles girlishly, and hides her mouth with her hand. "Thank you, Miss Alissa. I'll be waiting eagerly. I'll also prepare something sweet for you two once you come back," she kindly offers.

Alissa becomes uncomfortable when Selina calls her "Miss," but I already told her it's okay to be treated as an equal if her master is also doing it, so it only lasts for a second.

Then Alissa starts telling Selina of the preparations we're doing, and I just watch with a warm smile, consciously ignoring the contents of the gruesome conversation. They talk so innocently they seem like two friends talking about toys or action movies.

After that, we retire to our room and lay on our bed.

Alissa cuddles up with me and I wrap an arm around her, landing my hand on one of her black-tipped fox ears, then I immediately start playing with it.

"You have a good relationship with Selina," I comment amusedly.

She closes her eyes in delight and smiles cutely. "She's always so eager to hear our stories, so I like talking to her," she explains with a whispery voice then sighs as she lets her body relax on mine. "She's also a good girl, and it's exactly for people like her that someone like _me_ is trained to fight."

I guess they just have perfectly compatible personalities. The girl who's eager to fight and protect, and the girl who's eager to hear and cherish those who do.

I pull out the bag with the clothes she bought and inspect it. There's a frilly, flowing yellow dress that goes to her knees. Its color and design fit her well, so I just need to buy her some cute boots to make it perfect.

Before I can inspect the other set of clothes, she nabs the bag and tells me to close my eyes while she changes. When she tells me to open them again, I start salivating like a hungry dog.

She's wearing the one piece from the slave trader shop, barely covering her delicious curves; a pair of semi-transparent white thigh highs, teasing me by only partially showing their sexy, athletic shape; and on her arms she's wearing long-sleeved white gloves of the same material, like the ribbon on a gift, making it seem cute and special.

It's just so sexy my brain restarts to load the "fuck.exe" program, making me freeze for a moment.

The gloves and thigh highs are simple, they have no frills or special design, but they mix well with the simple silky one piece. It's the beauty of simplicity, and it makes her look angelical. The ears and the slowly swinging tail are just the cherries on top of this foxy cake.

Like a starving wolf lunging for a slab of roasted meat, I grab her and throw her on the bed. Tonight, I won't be gentle.

I kiss and grope her aggressively, but that's not enough, so I quickly shift my caresses downwards until my head is between her legs. She needs to be rewarded for bringing back such a precious gift.

She lets a moan mixed with surprise that shifts into one of pure pleasure midway. It's good to know that I still got it in my tongue.

I penetrate her with my finger and curl it upwards in search of my favorite spot on the whole body of a woman. I give it a rub, and Alissa squirms in a way she's never squirmed before.

With the way her waist shakes, I have to hold her in place so that I may continue the stimulation, and her moans only become louder. Her high-pitched moans reach the highest level tonight. Thankfully, our room is sound padded. I would pity the neighbors if it weren't because there's no amount of complaining that would make me stop. 

I maintain the steady and constant rubbing and she quickly orgasms. Her whole body locks up and her eyes roll up as she almost passes out, making me smirk.

_I still got it._

I stop to let her recover, and she doesn't even have the voice to ask me what I did, she just looks at me with slightly vacant and surprised eyes. Perhaps a bit of fear, too.

I go back to kissing her slowly until she catches her breath again because I'm not done yet.

"It's not over yet," I whisper in her ear. She twitches and looks at me with slightly worried eyes.

I make her turn around, then I grab the back of her neck and press it down on the bed. I lift her waist up with the other hand, then I easily slide inside her.

I do her with fast pounding at a low cadence so she can feel every thrust. She moans in sync with my movements, and the night goes on as I pound, and pound, and pound, and pound, and pound.

I change the rhythm every so often, and I add some flair. I pull her hair, her arm, I put her on a chokehold, I put all my power, all my anger on my thrusts, I grip her tail and give it a tug. She takes it all without complaining, and she even perks her ass up to get me to tug her tail again once I stop.

When I'm near the peak, I turn her around, look into her eyes, then I raise her dress and finish all over her body.

_This is your punishment for overly stimulating me._

Today, the wake-up kiss is twice as long, followed by her giving me a wide smile. She's still wearing her clothes as she was too tired to take them off yesterday, though at least we cleaned ourselves before collapsing

I wonder where she found this sexy lingerie, but I'll definitely have her go there again for more. The texture is just too amazing. It feels almost like a synthetic cloth from Earth, but it seems like it's way weaker, and it might only last a few more nights considering how aggressive it made me.

"Did you enjoy last night?" I teasingly ask with a big grin.

"Yes… but my back hurts a little," she shyly admits.

I frown worriedly. "Oh, sorry, you should've told me it hurts."

She blushes and assures me, "I know, it's just that I wasn't paying attention to the pain at the time."

_How can you still blush after what we did?_

I cast [ _Regeneration_ ] on her, and she sighs in pleasure, "Oh… that feels better. Thank you, master." -Her ears twitch cutely- "Ah… Now that I think about it, you never chant, do you?"

_Ah, shit, now what do I say…? I guess it's time for another lie._

"I was taught magic in a way that I don't need to chant, but it's like I said: my magic is weaker than the usual spell precisely because I don't chant," I come up with an excuse that would make sense if we were talking about the balance of a game. "But why do people chant, specifically?"

I see no hint of suspicion as she answers, "It's to help with the mana flow. The words and the voice resonate with the mana, and it also helps the mind align with spell, improving its efficiency. Casting without chanting requires a lot of familiarity with the spell, but it's definitely less mana-efficient."

Now that I think about it, chanting is the same as singing. Perhaps it's related to harmony, or something like that, I'm not too knowledgeable about sound physics.

  
  


The Clothes of the Berserker are safely stored in my "Items," and we reluctantly get out of our bed to eat breakfast. The Clothes will be forever with me so I can always pull them out when Alissa requires a savage punishment.

Selina gives us her blessing for the expedition, making Alissa even happier, then we set off for the hunters guild. Once there, the attendant guides us to the meeting room because the requester isn't here yet, so we wait.

The room has multiple cushioned chairs surrounding a round table with a tea set, a magical heating stone, and a bunch of cookies all waiting for us. On one of the walls, there's a blackboard with plenty of chalk, and on the opposite wall, there's a large comfy sofa.

I lay down on the sofa and put my head on Alissa's lap, then she runs her fingers through my hair, and I almost fall asleep.

  
  


The door opens, and a woman walks in, so I immediately sit up.

Black hair on a ponytail with two side bangs; small oval glasses; a diamond jaw; small lips; a pointy nose; upturned eyes; and a pale white face. My first impression is that she's stunningly beautiful. Then I see spiral black horns on her temples protruding forward, and a long black tail with a dagger-like blade at the tip swinging about. She's a demon race woman.

She wears a long black robe and silk black gloves. The robe shows a few of her curves, and it has shining purple flowers embroidered all around it. I can see a pair of high-heeled black boots peeking from under it, and I believe they'd be perfect with Alissa's yellow dress.

This woman is the definition of cool and sexy, until she opens her mouth.

"Goo~d morning! I'm Roxanne, and I'm your client for today!" She happily exclaims as she clasps her hands under her chin and grins, then she tilts her head to the side and giggles girlishly.

Alissa and I share a glance. It seems we both had a similar impression of this woman.

Without waiting for an answer, Roxanne starts walking towards me with confident steps, a swaying body that tickles my heart, and a bright smile. The cool and sexy is back.

Her approach cleanses me of my dumbfounded state, so I get up and shake hands with her as I introduce myself, "I'm Wolf Ryder, and this is my companion, Alissa. Our fellowship is named Helios."

She nods energetically and responds with happiness brimming from every word, "Yes! I saw your record. Grey Berserker, Orc Headhunter, and the Oodogloo caught in a single day. That's so impressive!"

Whenever she speaks, a cool and sexy voice comes out, but that impression is quickly ruined as her tone gets increasingly high-pitched and bubbly.

I blink blankly and stumble to find words in my stunned state, "Uh… well, thank you… Should we sit and talk about the request?"

"Yes, ple~ase!"

Her hands move constantly and her body squirms whenever she speaks. While her demeanor contrasts a lot with ours, at least she's quite expressive and easy to talk to.

We move towards the table and she sits right next to me. It's so close I can perfectly smell the perfume.

It's kind of awkward to talk to her like this. She's beautiful up close, but her atmosphere burns my eyes with her bright smile.

I tell her the route I had planned and she seems satisfied. There's not really much to complain about it since whether the route is good or not is based on luck, anyway.

Then she shows me the jar she wants to fill with the moss. It's basically a small 200ml bowl. Looks small, but it's moss, it's something that doesn't have a lot of volume, to begin with, but she assures me it's doable to fill it with a dozen or so turtles.

She also tells me that in the last report from a few days ago, an adventurer saw that the Turtles had a large amount of moss growing on their backs, so there should be enough for what she needs. The moss requires special care to extract it properly, so only a few people have the knowledge to take it. Since there's no Moonlight Moss on the market yet, then that means the report is still accurate.

With that part done, I change the topic, "Now tell me about your abilities."

She shows us a grin that I'd actually describe as evil as she excitedly gives us a rundown of her abilities, "I'm a Fire and Water mage! And I have two Unique Spells that I so dearly love: the first one is [ _Explosion_ ]. If you hold an enemy in place for three or so seconds, I can blow them to pieces! Ah…" -Her excitement goes away and she suddenly cringes- "But if you're going to be on the front line, I'm going to have to say I'm sorry, but you will be drenched in guts and blood…"

_Hahahahaha, I can already feel my "Sanity" stat going down._

Alissa and I are speechless. Apparently, she can also imagine what [ _Explosion_ ] looks like as she's as stunned as me.

Seeing that we aren't going to comment on it, Roxanne clears her throat awkwardly and continues, the happiness from before coming back in a split second, "Then the other one is [ _Melt Skin_ ]! I can throw a ball of water so hot that their skin will melt! This spell doesn't do a lot of direct damage, but I haven't seen an enemy that doesn't writhe in pain when it hits, so it's perfect for support." Then she nods in satisfaction, proud of herself.

"You definitely seem like a powerful mage," Alissa comments, seemingly impressed.

Aside from the gruesome image, these are two interesting spells. Since she's a Fire and Water mage, is she using these two elements combined to create a steam explosion? That'd be actually impressive.

I haven't tried manipulating two spells at the same time, but it seems taxing. I understand that with high [Mana Control], you can do plenty of crazy things, but to do it with two different magic schools at the same time seems a level above the rest.

Roxanne giggles softly and continues, "But anyway, my second ability is [Alchemy] and [Potion Making]. Since the caves are filled with enemies that use poison or venom, I can supply us with antidotes and anti-venom. I can even make it on-site with the body of those Tarantulas."

Yeah, she's special. Aside from the obnoxiously high level of happiness, she seems very useful. It's not going to be an escort job, it's gonna be a temporary fellowship kind of job.

We discuss battle tactics for a bit, with Alissa taking the lead since she seems the most experienced in fighting alongside others.

Roxanne easily agrees with everything, bringing us to the last question of this meeting. "Then, do you want to leave right now?" I ask.

She nods vigorously. "Ah, yes! Just let me gather a few last things and close down my house, then I'll meet you at the east gate. Is that all?"

I smile gracefully. "Yes, that's all."

I haven't tried to bargain too hard on the pay. I don't think I can improve the situation since the reward is already high, and the spoils will be split fairly since she's going to be an active fighter. I'm also a terrible negotiator, to be honest. I have no heart for making a deal that isn't fair or that gives _me_ the most benefits.

Roxanne bows and leaves, then I turn to Alissa.

"Alissa, there's something I have to tell you. It's going to be another secret." It's actually going to be another lie.

_Let's see how this lie goes, I'll gauge her reactions from this._

She looks at me curiously and asks, "Oh, what is it, master?" She tilts her head cutely.

I cringe for a moment before I steel my heart and start, "Well, on my homeland, there's a tale. It says that there's a special person who's born every few generations or so. This person has the ability to read the souls of people and guide them so they may fulfill their desires."

"Hmm..." Alissa hums in thought and narrows her eyes suspiciously.

_Did she get where I'm going?_

I grab her hand and lie earnestly, "You see… I think I'm one of those people, someone who's called a 'Guider.'"

"But what do you mean by 'guide them to fulfill their desires'?" She asks skeptically.

I think for a moment and decide to confess, "Well, you know that skill you got, the [Enhanced Stamina]? I gave it to you. I can see you have some sort of 'unlearned skill points,' which I can turn into actual skills and then back to 'unlearned skills' again at will."

Alissa opens her eyes wide and lets her mouth hanging in surprise. Oof, that's a little bit off from the reaction that I wanted, maybe I should have left it vaguer.

"I can't give or take any skill, just the ones that belong to these 'unlearned skill points.' Their number increases with levels and decreases with each skill you actually 'learn,' but I can only take away skills that I gave," I add hurriedly.

Her mouth moves wordlessly for a few seconds, then she suddenly grabs my hand and stares at my eyes with wonder as her tail wags wildly. "Th-th-that's amazing, master! I-imagine the things we can do with this!" She shouts excitedly.

_Shit… It's nice that you accepted it so easily, but you're a little too excited about it._

"I-I can only do it to you though, so I think it only works with people close to me," I hurriedly add again, already regretting telling her anything.

She stops and thinks for a second then resumes her wide smile. "Still, that's a powerful ability. You really are blessed!"

I sigh and mumble, "Perhaps…"

_I don't feel that blessed though, more like cursed and then sent a consolation prize._

I decide to reveal another secret and just be done with it, "My magic works the same way, I can move my own potential into different magic types."

"Ooh, I understand," she nods as she coos in wonder.

I smile wryly at her cute reactions. "So, you have six unused points that I can assign to skills. If I'm riding you, I'll put them into [Enhanced Stamina], but you'll need to tell me where to put them for when we're in combat. Though, for this expedition, I'll put them in [Mental Resistance] so we can resist the illusions of the Arachne."

She nods again. "Yes yes, I concur. But for the average battle, I think you can put it all on [Bow Use] since there's no other skill that'll benefit me as much. I need to focus on my strong points… Ah, can you put them into [Fox Transformation]?"

I check quickly, but I don't find it on the list. "No, I don't know why. Maybe because it's specific to your race." I shrug.

She puckers her lips in thought. "Hmm… that's a shame. At higher levels, I could use the Transformation to fight in melee or to easily run away. I also think that if I increase it just one or two levels, I might be able to absorb my weapons inside myself, too, and that would be quite useful."

_I feel a little uncomfortable putting you into melee range. Wait, is this the same feeling you get when_ I'm _fighting in melee? I think I understand you a little better now._

I reassign her extra points and she grins when she notices it, then I wrap things up, "Well then, I think things will be fine the way they are for now, but keep in mind your extra points because they're a trump card for you."

"Understood, master," she responds diligently.

I smile gently at her. "Then let us be off."

I'm glad she accepted and understood things so easily. I guess she trusts me even though I'm such a bad liar. Maybe because this world is so full of unknown and crazy things, me being just another unknown is okay to her.

  
  


We cross the town and reach the east gate. It's closer to the Noble's Quarters, so the landscape is much more beautiful, and the buildings are way less crooked. It kind of loses the charm of the city, though. The clashing architecture was growing on me, and I miss the small, cozy, and rustic atmosphere of the inn.

We get in line and wait for our turn at customs for a good then minutes, then we suddenly hear the characteristic sound of heels hitting the floor rapidly approaching. It's the cool and sexy Roxanne.

She's wielding a simple black metal staff with a flat ring on the top, and a perfectly spherical gem in the middle of the ring, which slowly pulsates as it changes it's color from blue to red. She's also wearing a small backpack, and I can see multiple unknown plants and monster parts dangling from it.

Once she sees us, she waves vigorously by swinging her arm high in the sky.

"OOI! RYDER!" She shouts excitedly.

_Wh-what are you doing? I already saw you, just come here quietly._

Alissa and I freeze on the spot, then Roxanne jogs a short distance and stops before us.

She immediately unslings her backpack and starts rummaging through it. "Alright, then! Here are six antidotes and four anti-venom." She bubbles, then she hands us multiple small flasks in quick succession. The anti-venom are in the standard flat metal flasks for combat use. "Keep the anti-venom on a chest pocket because you won't have time to use it if you store it in your [ _Item Box_ ]. Also, the anti-venom is magically enhanced, so it works instantly. And here are two of my own HP and MP potions. They're very valuable, so they're only for emergencies."

Alissa and I silently receive the flasks, then we reorganize our inventories. After that, we wait until it's our turn for customs.

When the guard sees that I have nothing in my [ _Item Box_ ] he gives me a curious glance but makes no comment on it. Alissa has things in her [ _Item Box_ ], so even if it's just me and her, we only look like a duo of adventurers less prepared than usual. Now with Roxanne carrying a backpack, he might have thought she's the servant carrying my things, or something like that.

Once we get out of town, the landscape turns into the exact same as the west side: farms on one side, and the gigantic trees of the Sea on the other side of the road. The only exception is that, on the horizon, I can see a brown mountain peeking from above a small forest far away. That's the Ant Hill.

The Ant Hill is a failed [ _Meteor_ ] spell that didn't disappear, for some reason. This spell creates a huge flaming rock that falls from the sky, which is supposed to blow up when it hits something, but this one didn't, and it just got embedded in the ground. Eventually, nature grew around it, then the Giant Moles started making a cave system inside because the environmental mana is quite high and they love that shit.

It's called "Ant Hill" because when attacked, the Moles would rush out like hundreds of ants. Then, the lord of Rabanara at the time got tired of it and properly subjugated the Hill, so now it's maintained as if it's a dungeon, which means that there are a lot of Moles inside, but it isn't an infestation that endangers passersby or even that particularly dangerous to the average adventurer.

When we get a good distance away from the wagons trying to enter the town, Roxanne turns to us and strikes a pose.

"Alright! So it's time to test this!" She exclaims as she messes with the system, which we can't see.

She suddenly touches the ground with her finger, and a large carpet appears with a *poof*. It's dark red with lots of yellow geometric patterns, and it has a large, round, green stone near the edge with what seems to be a wooden bike handle coming out of the top.

"A flying carpet?" I let out a question reflexively.

She smiles proudly. "Mhmm. It's made with the new super-fast flying stone, and I'm dying to test it out! It can certainly carry three people, but it'll be slower than its max speed."

_How rich are you? This request already pays a lot, and now you just pull out the expensive new hot thing everyone is talking about so casually._

_Though I'm actually kind of concerned about the safety of this thing. Where are the seat belts…? I've now realized that Aladdin was an incredibly irresponsible guy._

I smile wryly and try to find an excuse, "Erm… How about this: I'll just ride Alissa since she can transform into a large fox. This way it'll be faster, right?"

Alissa immediately agrees with me as she eyes the carpet suspiciously, "Yes, master. My fox form is _really_ fast, and it'll be more _secure_ for all of us this way."

_Is she concerned for my safety or did this carpet hurt her pride as a runner?_

Roxanne adjusts her glasses and raises her eyebrow in surprise. "Oh, you can ride her? Well, that's fine by me since it's faster," she answers casually and jumps on the floating carpet. It looks as if it's as stiff as a stone floor. She grabs the handle and starts floating up as she shouts, "Then let's goo! Let's race!"

"Who~a, hold on, it might be dangerous," I try to calm her down.

Alissa's hand lands heavily on my shoulder. "No, Master, it's perfectly safe. It will be fine," she assures me, though I feel a little bit of aggressiveness in her tone. So, it really is a matter of pride.

I shrug and give up, then Alissa turns into a fox.

I grab her equipment and mount her, then I breathe in.

"Go," I breathe.

And we go. We go fast.

  
  


"I'm sorry, master. I got carried away," Alissa apologizes with a heartbreakingly sad tone as she looks down at me.

Indeed, you got carried away, but I'm not really mad since you won. Well, I can't say anything right now, I need to hold in my breakfast.

"It's… fine…" I manage to let out a weak groan.

It takes me a few minutes, but eventually, my stomach stops churning. I get up from the grass and see Roxanne trying to stifle a laugh. I try to be mad at her but she's such a happy-go-lucky woman I just can't.

"I'm fine now, let's keep moving," I order.

The trip that should have taken one or two hours was done in less than half an hour. The cost was my dignity as I had to spend a few minutes sprawled on the floor to hold myself back from puking.

When Alissa goes all out, the shaking of her body rises to unbearable levels, which shows how considerate she is of my well-being, and I'm really thankful for that.

The scenery has changed a little. We're on a slope at the border of a normal forest, not the Sea of Trees. The road we were on deviates south a bit to go around the Ant Hill, so we've just abandoned it. The normal-sized trees with a normal-sized canopy, the normal atmosphere, and the faint humidity all reminds me of the parks I went to on Earth. I'm not a nature guy, but it's actually pleasant here.

The Sea of Trees is a fantastical and often beautiful forest, but it's very oppressive and filled with memories of battle. I think soon this forest will also have bad memories, but at least I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

I put my skills like this:

Wolf Ryder Skill Report  
  
---  
  
Physical  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Sword Use | 6+2 | Dodge | 2+4 | Parry | 1+5  
Block | 2+6 | Shield Bash | 0+1 | Mental Resistance | 8+0  
  
Magical  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Sense Mana | 0+2 | Mana Control | 0+3 | Mana Recovery | 3+0  
Mana Efficiency | 2+0 | Reduced Mana Cost | 2+0 | Fire Magic | 4+0  
Light Magic | 5+0 | Nature Magic | 5+0 | Blessing Magic | 5+0  
  
Miscellaneous  
  
Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level | Skill Name | Level  
Andraste Language | 10+0 | Dismantling | 0+1 |  |   
OBS: Level means (free point)+(trained point)  
  
I cast [ _Wind Armor_ ] on all of us and [ _Sharp Blades_ ] on my sword.

"Ooh, [Blessing Magic]. I knew you were a magic swordsman, but this is really good," Roxanne comments while inspecting her forearm for the faint magical breeze that the spell produces occasionally.

I smile gently at her, then I meditate to refill my mana.

Once I get up, I remember something. "Ah, Miss Roxanne, can we make a temporary fellowship? It'll be good for us to share Experience."

"Sure thing!" She responds cheerily.

I grab her delicate, pale hand and savor its softness, but Alissa's feels better.

Then we start moving.

The trees around here seem to grow in any direction they see fit, and their trunks are so thin and long that multiple trees huddle together in a sort of oversized bush. There's also too many actual bushes and too much tall grass, making traversal through here very annoying.

I pull out a spare short sword and use it to cut a path forward. It's fortunate my sword skill helps in cutting grass.

The cave entrance is not far away, and in a few dozen minutes, we're already touching the brown rock of the failed meteor, but just before we find the entrance, goblins get in our way. Alissa detects a group of three barely dressed goblins with crude wooden spears appear.

"Target practice," I whisper with an evil smile.

Alissa lets arrows fly, and two are already dead before the third even notices.

He actually gets scared and freezes on the spot at the sudden death of his companions, allowing Alissa to fire a perfect arrow towards his forehead.

"I can feel the difference," Alissa to me as she plays with her bow.

I put the six extra points she had on [Bow Use] just for this battle, so I'll put them back on [Mental Resistance] when we reach the cave.

"Impressive," Roxanne praises as we walk past the dead goblins.

Alissa looks away so I can't see her reaction, but I can still see her that tail swaying for a second.

Just a few more minutes, and we reach the entrance to the cave: a round, ten meters wide hole. Its size is rather impressive considering the moles are normally only one meter tall. Perhaps they dug it so wide so they could flood out of their caves more easily.

I pull out the spear with a torch tied at the blade. It's something we prepared beforehand.

Alissa lights the torch, and we start moving forward while I lazily wave the spear ahead of us.

Not even five meters inside the cave, a fire suddenly spreads through multiple lines in the air. We've hit the first transparent web.

It burns for a few seconds before fizzling out, then we keep moving.

As the natural light from the sun is left behind, we all cast [ _Spirit Light_ ]. I imagine a white light, and this time it comes out just as I wished instead of the usual ghostly light blue.

Our progress in these tunnels is slow. Once in a while, Roxanne or I cast a small [ _Fireball_ ], but the webs have quite a lot of space between them, so sometimes the spell just hits nothing.

It can barely be called a "net" or "web," though. It's made to imperceptibly cling to the body, adding layers upon layers the further the prey walks in, and when they notice the web, they're already deep inside the cave and partially wrapped.

The cave is an unending boring brown maze. The tunnels twisting and turning, they go up, down, and over. It's a chaotic mess without sense or rhyme. Maybe someone could make a random number generator just by analyzing this cave system.

The map is rather nightmarish to understand without 3D visualization. The tunnels end up in rooms that are either square or round, and there's no logic for their shape or location. The cave was just randomly dug in in random directions and rooms were randomly added in just to randomize the randomness further.

After half an hour of progress, Alissa suddenly stops me.

"Something is coming," she whispers sternly.

_It must be a Tarantula._

I drop the spear and draw my sword, then I feel Roxanne start gathering mana behind me. This [Sense Mana] skill is quite interesting.

I start to hear the sound of something scurrying about, and the many nimble, small feet are coming directly towards us.

An arrow and a fireball fly ahead.

"HISHAAAA!" Then a hiss comes back.

Hard to believe a spider can make a sound like that.

I see something reflect ahead, then, a few moments later, a many-legged thing enters our light, and it comes flying towards me.

I steel myself and put my shield up, then I feel Roxanne release her spell.

Two things hit the shield and my view is covered by eight furry legs twitching wildly. I push back and immediately slash as a counter.

My sword breaks something hard, then cuts through something fleshy like butter, and I feel something wet and hot fall on me.

The Giant Tarantula is split into two, and I'm bathed in its inner fluids. It's a mix of some transparent, sticky substance with red blood. It's fucking disgusting, disgusting, disgusting, disgusting, disgusting, disgusting, disgus-...

"[ _Clean_ ]."

_Oh, this feels nice…_

It didn't have enough time to soak into my clothes, so everything just disappears in the blink of an eye. I'm better now.

"Thanks, Alissa…" I mumble with a weak voice, and she pats my shoulder in consolation.

"Are you okay now, master?" She asks concernedly.

I force a smile. "Yeah… I just fucking hate spiders…"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ryder, I understand your situation," Roxanne sympathizes.

_You don't really need to apologize but it made me feel a little better, so it's okay._

This Tarantula is just half a meter tall, and it looks to be a young one, which means it's dumber. That's why it didn't even stop the charge even after receiving an arrow and a [ _Fireball_ ] on its face.

I cut a fang as proof of extermination and pick up the flaming spear, then we move on.

  
  


"There's two waiting on the fork," Alissa cautions me.

Not a good idea to continue. Tarantulas are very nimble, so we have to deal with one at a time.

A simple scenario, so I come up with a simple plan, "We'll lure them out. Miss Roxanne, use [ _Torrent_ ] on the one on the right and make sure you don't miss. I won't be able to keep both away if you do."

"Yes, sir! Don't worry, I have perfect aim with my magic," she confidently states and puts a closed fist over her heart. Considering she uses glasses, I'm nowhere near as confident as she is.

We move forward a little bit so we can see the fork ahead. The tunnel opens into a square room with two other tunnels at the end of it, so the spiders must be just around the corner if we can't see them.

_Do they sleep? Do they hibernate or something? The book didn't talk about these things. I'll have to make noise so they understand we know they are hiding, then they'll either retreat or charge depending on how smart they are._

I throw a [ _Fireball_ ] to clear any remaining webs nearby, and we move to around twenty meters from the fork, then I ask Alissa to get near the wall and a few arrows the furthest she can into the corner of the room ahead.

Three arrows hit the stone ground and break near where one spider should be.

We wait a few seconds, but nobody hears anything.

"Nothing?" I whisper to Alissa.

"Nothing," she responds in the same tone.

I throw a [ _Fireball_ ] where the arrows hit and we wait… but again, nothing.

I grit my teeth in anger. "Well… FUCKING STUPID SPIDERS COME OUT YOU LITTLE SHITS!" I let out an outburst.

"Oh…! That did it!" Alissa exclaims and nocks an arrow.

_Seriously? Whatever…_

I pull up my shield and prepare.

Two, one-meter tall spiders come out of the fork and dash towards us with frightening speed. One charges towards me, and the other towards Roxanne.

Once they're a few meters away, Roxanne fires her magic.

The spider is hit in the face with a thick jet of water that pushes it all the way down the corridor until it crashes onto the wall of the fork ahead.

That was actually a really strong spell; I'll be surprised if it's unscathed. I little more power and it would've been an instant kill.

The other spider jumps towards me, and I remain immobile, just waiting for it to come.

An arrow whistles past my right ear just as the spider readies its fangs, and an arrow sinks into its mouth.

It's mid-flight and can't stop, but it starts writhing in pain, completely giving up on the attack.

The back of the arrow hits my shield and goes deeper into the spider but doesn't kill it, then its legs hit me and it pushes itself away from me.

I try to counter with a thrust, but it's too fast and my sword hits nothing. That's okay, though, as it's part of the plan.

I cast [ _Constricting Vines_ ] at the spider far away who's writhing about on the floor. It's honestly the first time I have a good opportunity to use it because it's kind of hard to time it right. Green vines burst from the ground and wrap themselves around every limb of the Tarantula, keeping it secure to the floor.

This spell can be very useful, but it takes time to get a grip on the target, so most intelligent monsters are either strong enough to ignore the vines, like the Orc Headhunter or the Young Ogres, or it's smart enough to dodge it, leaving few situations where it's worthy of trying to combo a stun with this spell.

The remaining spider backs off as it realizes I'm too hard to kill and tries to circle around me to jump on Alissa.

_Like hell I'm going to let you do that._

I jump forward and slash towards it, forcing it to retreat as it hisses at me, then another arrow pierces its face, taking out one of its many eyes.

"HIIIIII," it lets out a high-pitched scream in frustration.

I retreat back to the middle of the tunnel, and now I wait.

Roxanne releases a [ _Fireball_ ] at the Tarantula, but the spell is too slow, so the spider jumps backward and dodges it. When it falls, it meets another arrow that pierces its mouth again.

_Shit Alissa, that was good. I didn't even tell you to combo with the [_ Fireball _]._

I cast my own [ _Fireball_ ] along with Roxanne's. The spider dodges one, but its leg gets burnt by the other, then another arrow hits it, though this time it hit the hard exoskeleton, so it only penetrates shallowly.

"SHAAA!" It screams and charges forward. Now it's angry and making a suicide charge, so I start preparing a [ _Fireball_ ] in response.

I take the charge head-on, and I feel its two fangs hit the shield with power. It hurts my shoulder, but I stand my ground, then I open my shield and point the [ _Fireball_ ] directly at its face. It has no way of dodging point-blank.

It lets out a disgusting high-pitched scream as it pushes itself away from me and rolls backward on the floor.

I feel the vines are dissipating, so we have to finish this _now_.

The burned spider stands up, but it's blind and writhing in pain, making it completely defenseless. Another arrow hits its mouth, and it starts to get dizzy, losing its balance.

I jump forward with a thrust, and my sword hits its head. I crush the exoskeleton and the blade enters the flesh, sinking deep into its brain, then it immediately goes limp. It's dead.

In the distance, the other spider comes charging. Two of its right legs seem to be broken, so it's lacking in balance and its charge is slow.

Alissa immediately fires two fast arrows, and it isn't even capable of dodging, so one penetrates an eye while the other enters the mouth. Meanwhile, Roxanne is charging another strong spell.

Before the girls can attack again, the Tarantula reaches me and leaps forward.

I receive its attack with my shield, but it's weaker than the previous spider. I easily push it back, and Roxanne lets out her spell.

She swings her arm vigorously as a fire whip flares in her hand, and its tip whistles past me in the blink of an eye like an arrow.

The fire whip wraps around the body of the spider, and the sizzling sound of burning reaches our ears as the spider desperately struggles to free itself from it.

I take the opportunity and slash at its body. I miss the head, but I sever three legs on the right at the base, and now it can barely muster the strength to resist anymore.

I slash again and the last leg on the right side is gone, so it turns upside-down and struggles to right itself.

I pierce the soft head from below, then it goes limp and dies.

I sigh and start winding down, then Roxanne approaches and inspects her work as she casually comments, "That was interesting. I rarely have the opportunity to use [ _Fire Whip_ ], but it's always extremely useful when the opportunity for it arrives. It's like your [ _Constricting Vines_ ]: it needs to a distraction to make it work, otherwise, they can dodge it, and these Tarantulas aren't very strong, so I can hold them all by myself."

"I prefer that you save your mana for a strong [ _Torrent_ ], but let's try [ _Fire Wall_ ] next. I really want to see it suicide jump into that spell," I confess with a sadistic tone.

_Fuck these spiders._

[ _Constricting Vines_ ] is good as a follow up for a stunned Tarantula, but we lack strong openers. [ _Fireball_ ] is too slow, while [ _Fire Arrow_ ] doesn't do much damage and Roxanne needs Alissa-level accuracy to be effective with it.

"Perhaps [ _Water Blade_ ] could work?" Roxanne suggests.

I nod in agreement and add, "Let's try it after [ _Fire Wall_ ]."

As we get near the fork, I notice the symbols on each of the tunnels. It's the system explorers developed so someone could locate themselves inside this maze of featureless tunnels. Each fork has a unique symbol, so if we get lost, we can just move to the next fork and then search for the symbol on our map.

  
  


After a while, we reach another fork, a circular room with six exit tunnels.

"Wait, master," Alissa stops me.

"What is it?"

She scans the tunnels ahead, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "There's a strong smell of spiders around here, but they're too far for my [Sense Presence], so let me investigate a little."

"Sure," I whisper.

She stops before each tunnel and sniffs the air with cute movements that really do remind me of a fox, making me get so distracted I almost drop my guard.

"The smell is stronger on these tunnels and lower on these others," she reports and points as she points at the respective tunnels.

"Let's take a detour and go through that one, then. Less spiders on the way," I order.

As we walk towards the tunnel, I notice something odd at the entrance. The tunnels are all half-circles and the floor is normally rough and slightly curved, but on this tunnel, the ground is completely level for about ten meters, then it becomes round again.

My spidey senses are tingling.

"What's wrong?" Roxanne when we both suddenly stop.

"The ground is suspicious," Alissa answers, reliable as ever.

"Indeed," I agree.

I crouch in front of the tunnel and hit it with my hand, and it makes a hollow sound.

I pull out a small broom from my "Items" and bush the dust away, revealing right in the middle of the tunnel a small channel. The floor is actually two slabs covering a hole almost perfectly made to look seamless.

"Oh, wait, the ground changed," Roxanne comments confusedly.

I turn around and frown at her. "What do you mean? All I did was dust it a little."

"Perhaps it was an illusion?" Alissa suggests.

I snap my finger and exclaim, "Oh! An Arachne trap."

"But it isn't their territory yet," Roxanne replies.

I shrug and point out, "They're known to be cunning."

Roxanne crosses her arms and thinks. "This tunnel is the one with the faintest smell of spiders? Perhaps the smell itself is a trap."

_Goddamn mind games._

I tap my temple in thought as I consider, "We have a few options here: trigger the trap then find a way to cross it, though that could alert the monsters that we are here; try _not_ to trigger the trap and cross, but I don't really know how to do that; go towards the next tunnel with the faintest smell, but the smell might also be a trap; or go to our original tunnel with the strongest smell of spider. Any opinions?"

"Well, aren't you the leader? Do you really need our opinion?" Roxanne asks with a teasing tone as she smirks.

I categorically state with a snobbish tone, "I take it upon myself to make the decision, but I want to hear the opinions of both of you before I act." Then I smirk at her.

She smiles and coos, "Ohh, I like that."

Alissa clears her throat and follows up in the same tone as me while smiling faintly, "Well then, Master, I prefer to risk fighting the spiders on our original path, that's where our strength lies."

Roxanne nods repeatedly. "I also prefer that. I really don't like arachnes and I don't wanna play their games. I prefer when my enemies charge into my spells," she speaks her mind.

I nod and grunt in acknowledgment. "Then it's unanimous, let's go," I order.

We enter our original tunnel and walk for ten, silent minutes before Alissa notices something.

"There's something ahead; a single monster," she reports.

"Okay, I'll try to attract it," I reply and lower the flaming spear, then I release a [ _Fireball_ ] forward.

No response…

_So annoying._

"COME HERE YA DICKHEAD!" I suddenly shout.

"It's coming," Alissa warns.

_Do they really understand our language?_

A single Giant Tarantula appears. This is going to be easy.

The Tarantula charges forward madly. It receives an arrow on one of its eyes and a [ _Fireball_ ] on one of its fangs before it even reaches me.

The Tarantula loses some of its momentum, weakening the charge, and only a single fang hits my shield. The attack is solid but weak enough that it's bearable, and I even manage to cut a leg during the counter.

"SHAAA," It shouts angrily.

As it retreats a short distance, an arrow pokes another eye, then it decides that Alissa is the bigger threat and tries to go around me, but I cut another leg and it backs away.

With one way closed, it tries to charge past me towards Roxanne.

"[ _Fire Wall_ ]!"

And the spider jumps through the wall without hesitation.

"HIIIIII!"

"Oh shit," I mutter.

Somehow, the spider has turned into a bonfire.

_That's dangerous._

"Back off!" I yell to Roxanne.

The spider almost tramples me as it hisses and thrashes about from the pain, and I have to bash my shield onto it to keep it away.

Roxanne releases a [ _Torrent_ ] and it flies away as it's partially extinguished.

The spell was hastily cast, so it isn't as too strong as the previous time. Add that to the monster's tenacity, and the spider manages to quickly get up again. This time, it charges directly at me while half of its body is still burning.

"Try the blade," I order Roxanne, and I start to feel a lot of mana gathering behind me.

Rage fuels the Tarantula's charge, allowing it to reach a higher speed, and even after losing another eye to Alissa it still doesn't slow down.

I just defend from its attack, focusing on keeping my feet on the ground, then I slashing to force it back, but it charges again immediately.

"[ _Water Blade_ ]!"

An incredibly thin blade of water shoots towards the face of the spider. In it's rage, the Tarantula doesn't even notice the spell and takes the hit head-on.

The blade disappears inside its face, then its body goes limp, and it rolls on the floor. It's dead.

Through an imperceptible small slit, blood pours out of its exoskeleton, and a few twinkles of moisture in the air show where the blade passed through.

"Wow, that spell is deadly," I remark in amazement.

"I think we were just lucky because it was completely enraged, so it didn't even try to dodge," Roxanne rebuts with a face full of skepticism.

I rub my chin in thought, the rough texture of my gloves making this act not very pleasant. "Hmm… then let's try one more time. At least we know it pierces without a problem."

Alissa suddenly voices her doubt, "Master, one thing: are my arrows helpful? I keep hitting their eyes, but I'm not sure if that's a very effective target."

"Yes, they are. The ones in the mouth make them hesitate when they charge. The ones in the eyes make them slower to react, it's subtle but I can notice the difference."

"Oh, I see…" She hums, a little content, but I can't see her tail right now.

Then I turn to the half-burnt corpse that smells rather awful. "But now I want to know why it burned so much like this. Was its hair so flammable?"

Alissa tilts her head cutely and asks, "Flammable?"

I hold myself from gushing and nod. "Yeah, it means something that catches fire easily."

"We'll have to examine the corpse," Roxanne points out.

I shudder. I don't want to touch the spider.

"Any volunteers?" I ask with a guilty smile.

"I'll do it," Alissa immediately responds without hesitation.

_No, you're too pure. I have to do it myself…_

"But this corpse is all charred, let's find another one," Roxanne suggests, looking like she's pitying her a bit, and I agree with her.

We walk for a short while and find another corpse. Five corpses, actually.

"What is this?" I blurt out, bewildered

The Giant Tarantula corpses are brutalized. Their legs are bent and broken, their sternum is open and dripping, their abdomen is crushed, and their fangs have been ripped and scattered about. They're all hanging in the air by thick white webs like some sick modern art display.

Roxanne wrinkles her nose in disgust and questions, "Ugh… what would do something like this?"

"Arachnes?" Alissa suggests.

I snap my fingers and exclaim, "Yes! That's it. It's part of the trap to make us not come here. Arachnes are very violent and prey upon tarantulas occasionally, so maybe this is their handiwork."

"Can we never fight an Arachne, please? This is way too brutal for me," Roxanne pleads, her pale face even paler from disgust.

I agree wholeheartedly, "Yeah, I'll try to steer us away from them. Now, let's continue for a short while and then rest a little."

We find a nice large room a good distance away from the massacre and sit down for some tea.

I bring out the small broom from before and clean the dust around us, then I bring out a large picnic blanket. With multiple *poofs* I pull out sandwiches and a few berries Alissa brought along with the juice. She pulls out a tea seat, the cheap cookies, and starts warming the teapot with a small [ _Fireball_ ] she holds at the tip of her finger.

"This is adorable," Roxanne comments with a smile.

"Master gets grumpy when there's no tea," Alissa shyly teases.

It's kind of true, though.

Alissa seems to love making tea for me, and she took it upon herself to always carry the tea set with her. I like coffee with chocolate more, but I'll take what I can get.

Roxanne follows up with the teasing, "If you told me that you were a noble, I wouldn't be surprised."

I simply shrug. I know I can be a bit snobbish sometimes.

Roxanne pulls out a small red crystal and offers it to Alissa, "Here, use this magic stone."

"Oh, thank you, Miss Roxanne, this is more efficient," Alissa gracefully accepts.

Then we share our food with Roxanne. She only had a simple sandwich, so she enjoys our cookies quite a lot.

She finishes her tea and exhales loudly, "Ah~! This is nice…"

My heart warms up as it feels quite nice to share a nice meal with someone. "It can get even better if I find something high-quality though," I comment.

She raises her eyebrows and smirks. "Oh? Now I'm interested."

I look at my cup as I articulate, "Well, first I need to find it. I don't know where, but I know it exists. I've tasted it once, and I'll keep looking until I find it again."

I still remember the tea and cookies at the Golden Necklace, those were as good as the ones on Earth.

"Please share with me when you find it, then." And she lets out a cut giggle.

The sandwiches are our lunch. Though we don't know the time since we're underground, we can still follow our stomachs.

We move on and meet another lone spider.

"[ _Water Blade_ ] this time," I order.

We keep walking until Alissa tells us it's moving, then we get ready for battle.

It comes straight at me like the previous fights and loses an eye to Alissa before it even reaches me. Meanwhile, Roxanne gathers her mana.

I receive the charge with practiced ease, then I counter and cut the tip of a leg. Since I didn't cast [ _Fireball_ ], the spider is less cautious, and it immediately starts another charge, but Roxanne releases her spell before it hits me again.

The Tarantula immediately stops in its tracks once it senses the spell flying, then it nearly falls over as its legs scramble, desperately trying to dodge, but the spell still hits.

The blade opens its thorax and blood splashes all over the floor, but it isn't dead yet.

_This is so annoying; just fucking die!_

The spider stumbles, struggling to maintain itself upright, and Alissa takes the chance to pop two other eyes.

The Tarantula switches to the defensive and becomes cautious, so I charge forward and slash. It doesn't react in time, and I manage to sever a fang.

I feel Roxanne gather her mana again, so I just threaten the spider and then back off. Roxanne releases another [ _Water Blade_ ], and the Tarantula's reduced vision causes it to fail to dodge in time.

The spell enters its head and its body instantly goes limp. It's dead.

I clean my sword with a piece of cloth, then I walk to the Tarantula to inspect it. "Well, I guess [ _Water Blade_ ] really is the most effective way to kill these things," I note.

"[ _Fireball_ ] makes them wary, so they slow down their attack, but [ _Water Blade_ ] does the most damage," Roxanne elaborates further.

Without hesitation, Alissa walks to the spider's body and touches it.

I squeak in surprise and pity, "Ah! You didn't have to do this."

Alissa shakes her head energetically. "I don't mind it, Master. I told you before to depend on me."

_Does she mean what she told me after we killed the Young Ogre? Is this her way of taking care of my mental well being? Well, I'm just being a pussy, so I don't think she really needed to do this, but I don't have the willpower to stop her now._

She turns to the Tarantula again, then pokes and prods it as she inspects it. "Hmm… the hair is stiff and rough, and it seems oily and damp, but it doesn't seem to be something 'flammable.' What's this…? It's sticky…" -She raises her head and shows me her hand as her eyebrows rise high in surprise- "Is this the transparent web?"

I get closer to her and grab her cute hand. I can't see very well, so I grab the [ _Spirit Light_ ] floating above my head and bring it closer to her hand.

After taking a very close look, I notice a slight shine. It's the ultra-thin and nearly transparent web of the Tarantulas that we have been burning up until now.

"Hmm… why is there a web on its body?" I wonder.

Alissa turns to the Tarantula again and starts to feel its body. "It's not everywhere; only some parts of it are sticky like this," she notes.

Roxanne scratches her horn in thought as she wonders, "Why did nobody know about this? It's kind of hard to believe that nobody used [ _Fire Wall_ ] to stop their charge."

"Yeah, that's very odd," I mumble.

Nobody has anything more to contribute, so reach an impasse in our reasoning.

I shake my head dismissively and suggest, "Let's just go. We can still inspect more spider bodies and look for anything different."

"Let me burn this web on my hand first," Alissa says and starts to chant a [ _Fireball_ ].

I forgot the web is super sticky. "Hold on," I stop her and grab her hand.

With subtle movements, I quickly remove her [Mental Resistance] and put it all on [Pain Resistance].

"It's all good," I whisper.

Alissa's ears twitch, then she turns to me and smiles. It seems she noticed what I did. And Roxanne just watches us with a confused face.

Alissa casts [ _Fireball_ ], creating a flame above her finger, and moves it closer to her sticky hand until the web catches fire.

It burns for a few seconds, then I approach her and cast [ _Regeneration_ ] as I return her [Mental Resistance].

Once she's fully healed, I give her hand a kiss, and she returns a sweet smile, then we move on.

We meet five spiders in succession, but only two had the web on their bodies. This time, I give Alissa a small piece of cloth for her to check the bodies.

"Could it be a difference between the sexes?" I propose.

Alissa tilts her head cutely. "I don't understand, Master."

I adjust my non-existent glasses and start the lecture, "The male spider coats his body in the web because it's sticky, then uses the stickiness to help hold down the female for mating. I know there are quite a lot of animal species that basically rape their partner during mating, so they use whatever they can to help tie up their mate."

Roxanne hums in wonder, "Hmm, that's interesting, but I don't know much about animals… are you perhaps a scholar?"

Alissa nods earnestly, then shares some of her knowledge, "I also don't know much about this, Master. Though it's known that the spiders reproduce, adventurer knowledge doesn't go much further than that since it doesn't help in killing them faster." Then she smiles wryly.

I just casually respond, "I'm not a scholar, just a curious person who reads a lot of books."

"To me, that's a scholar," Roxanne retorts with a cheeky grin.

I shrug, then we move again.

Alissa suddenly tells us to stop and reports, "This one is bigger than normal."

"Arachne?" I question.

"I don't know, I don't recognize the signature." She looks ahead with a serious look on her face and her tail hanging low. Her ears twitch from side-to-side, trying to catch any small sound, but she hears nothing.

The [Sense Presence] skill is like a radar. It tells the distance, size, and direction with a certain amount of precision depending on the level of the skill. Each type of living being has a "signature," so it's possible to differentiate the types of monsters by their signatures, but if the tracker hasn't sensed a certain signature before, then it's nearly impossible to know what it is.

I start giving out orders, "Okay, standard formation. No need to worry too much because it's either a bigger spider or an Arachne. It's certainly not a Sludge because there's no disgusting smell." And they both nod in acknowledgment.

We carefully move forward because we could still sneak past it or enrage even before we meet if we make too much noise. Most monsters are more cautious during the first meeting, but if they know there are humanoids close, they can work themselves into a bloodlusting rage just by themselves.

We keep moving while still using the flaming spear and we slowly inch closer until we see an outline being revealed by our light.

It's a two meters tall spider with a red bulge growing out of its head that twitches and pulses creepily. It's so enthralled in eating the corpse of another spider that it doesn't even notice us approaching.

I give a signal and start to charge a [ _Fireball_ ] while Roxanne charges her own spell, then the spider turns to us, attracted to the mana.

As it turns, an arrow pierces one of its eyes.

"SHIA!" It shouts in anger and pain.

It scrambles to retreat a few meters in surprise, but it still manages to dodge all the following arrows as they hit its tough exoskeleton and don't penetrate. This one is seemingly smarter and tougher.

Then it suddenly charges.

I release my [ _Fireball_ ] before it reaches me, and it hits the right side of the spider's face, burning one eye. Roxanne doesn't release hers yet, so it's a stronger spell than normal, which is good since this enemy will need more firepower to bring down.

Then the huge spider hits me, and I'm pushed back a little. I try to counter, but my sword simply slides ineffectively along its legs, simply cutting hair as I struggle to find a fleshy opening to strike.

I get an idea, then I brace myself and wait for the second charge. The moment it starts dashing forward again, I charge my mana and point towards the spider as if I'm going to cast [ _Fireball_ ]. The spider falls for the bluff and dodges to the side, so the charge slows and its attack doesn't have the same strength, but I still cast something.

I jump backward as it hits and cast [ _Constricting Vines_ ] on the spot I was just at. The spider stops on it, then vines burst out of the ground and grab its multiple legs.

It remains stuck there for a short while, which is enough of an opening for Alissa to put an arrow in its mouth, but it's also the perfect moment for Roxanne to end it all.

"[ _Water Blade_ ]!"

A long and wide blade of transparent water erupts out of her staff and flies towards the monsters in the blink of an eye.

The spider tries to dodge it, but it's still stuck in place, so the blade sinks into its flesh and exoskeleton in a diagonal, severing the red bulge and all its right legs.

The spider falls to the side, then writhes in pain and desperation, but it's over. I lunge and pierce its head, killing it instantly.

Then we all frown in disgust as the red bulge splashes on the floor, releasing a gush of a transparent liquid, then revealing the skinless top body of a woman

_I'm starting to feel sick._

Alissa grabs the flaming spear and assertively hands it to me, her face completely serious. I sheathe my sword and grab it, then she silently pushes me forward, and we quickly pass the dead monster.

After a few minutes, the disgust passes away, and I finally realize the obvious. "That was an Arachne being born," I blurt out.

"Yes," Alissa answers tersely.

And that's all we say about it. Even Roxanne has no jokes to tell.

We walk for a whole hour without any other encounters. It seems that the previous almost-Arachne cleared the area for us. Then we reach a fork.

"Master, there's a disgusting stench coming from that way," Alissa reports.

I frown as I detect a faint smell of shit. "That's probably the sludge, let's not go there."

This enemy I'll avoid with all my power. After reading the battle reports of this monster, I think it'd be a miracle if we don't puke when we get near.

After that, we only meet one lone spider, so we must be deep in Arachne territory now.

We start seeing suspicious mists, and Alissa catches unknown smells, then the occurrence of the invisible webs drops drastically, allowing us to greatly increase our pace.

We find two bear traps and two other suspicious-looking floor designs that we avoid at all cost. We just avoid anything out of the ordinary, really. It's not confirmed that it's an Arachne trap, but why risk it? There's also no need to rush, we can just take another route if our path is blocked.

"This is the third time you've sighed in just a short time," Alissa suddenly whispers, her voice showing some concern.

I look back at her and raise an eyebrow questioningly. "Uh? Why are you counting?"

"To understand your mood," she answers matter-of-factly.

I facepalm and sigh again. "Is that… _really_ necessary?"

"Yes, Master," -she suddenly grabs my hand- "I'll protect your mind and body," she confidently whispers as her tail wags gently.

Girl, you're too good to me, I don't deserve this. You're actually making me feel guilty, and I also want to sigh again.

_No, wait, even for me, this is too much._

I stop walking and look at the other girls. "I'm starting to feel like this is not normal. The sighing, I mean."

Alissa lets out a small smile and nods. "That's what I thought," she agrees.

"Let's just take a break. I'm feeling really tired," Roxanne pleads, her shoulders drooped in drowsiness.

_This is suspicious; even Roxanne is downcast._

We all immediately sit down on the dirty floor without much care to dust it first.

I put twenty points in a skill called [Diagnosis]. It takes a token amount of mana to activate it, and I use it on myself.

Roxanne notices me staring at my hand intensely and gives me a curious look.

A floating black screen appears before my eyes, and it tells me that I'm suffering from [Lethargy (small)].

_So, we got poisoned or something like that?_

I turn my points back to normal and turn to Roxanne. "Miss Roxanne, do you know of a pacifying poison or something similar that saps energy or stamina?" I politely ask her, trying not to sound too suspicious.

"Uhh..." She mumbles absentmindedly with a sleepy look. It takes a few seconds for her to process my words, then her eyes suddenly go wide. "Yes! There _is_ a pacifying poison! It gradually lowers one's energy, reducing their will to fight. I believe we might be poisoned with it."

I've read something about poisons, so I need to make a distinction, "Is it a 'want' or a simple 'can't' fight because the person is exhausted?"

"'Want', it's a mental poison," she states confidently.

_A-ha!_

Then I remember something important that slipped my mind, so I question Roxanne, "Now that I think about it, did you bring something for [Mental Resistance], Miss Roxanne?"

This was an oversight. I should've asked what her countermeasures for the Arachne were, but I couldn't tell her my countermeasure was "I will just learn a rare skill whenever I want," so I think it was best that I forgot about it.

She nods happily and pulls a necklace hidden below her robes. "Yes. This is a small amulet blessed by the God of Endurance."

_So the Gods can also enchant objects; that's quite interesting. I wonder if he'd be mad if Roxanne ever sold it._

I turn to Alissa and smirk. "I have an idea, so I want to test something, and I'll need your help, Alissa." Then I stand up and offer her my hand.

"Anything, Master," she obediently responds and takes it.

I pull her closer and hug her waist, then I turn to Roxanne and smile apologetically. "Also, I'm sorry if this looks inappropriate to you, Roxanne, but this is in the name of science… or rather, in the name of the Goddess of Knowledge."

Roxanne looks at me confusedly, then I turn to Alissa and look her in the eye lovingly as I cup her cheek. She relaxes in my arms and smiles faintly as she realizes what's to come.

I pull her face, then give her a deep kiss, and she immediately hugs me back. I start slow, but then our tongues entwine, and we start kissing passionately.

Energy starts to fill my heart and I get anxious. I want more, more! I want to be warmer, I want to hug Alissa harder, I want to undress her right here and take her. I reminisce about her beautiful body being adorned by the Clothes of the Berserker, her body being caressed by its silky texture.

My heart beats madly with love and excitement, then my muscles warm up and itch for action as I feel the poison being cleansed from my mind.

I slow down the kissing, then we, unfortunately, break away.

Alissa is blushing, her breath is quicked, her tail is wagging rapidly, and her eyes stare into mine with expectancy. What have I done, she's in the mood, but we can't do it right now. This is torture, I say.

I clear my throat and smile as I report, "I feel like this confirms it, we can break a mind poison by stimulating each other."

"Eh…?" Alissa suddenly makes a funny noise then immediately clears her throat and assumes a forced composed tone, "Oh, ah, yes. I feel much better now, which means the kiss really did counteract the poison." Then she looks away embarrassedly.

"Hmm…" Roxanne lets out a mindless sound as she stares at us blankly.

I smile guiltily at her and suggest, "Miss Roxanne, you're still under the mind poison, so perhaps you should try to stimulate yourself, like slapping your face."

"Not fair…" She mutters dejectedly, then follows my suggestions and slaps herself, hard. This is the standard way of breaking spells that affect the mind, which really isn't pleasant, so I feel some pity for her.

Here's a quick complaint. No hero story ever tells you how stressful and embarrassing it is to answer the call of nature in a dangerous place while in a group. You can't go too far too so you don't endanger yourself, but you can't do it too close, otherwise, it's embarrassing if your comrades can smell or hear you. Even if we have incredible conveniences like [ _Clean_ ] and a portable bidet with [ _Conjure Water_ ], it's still a horrible experience.

We avoid another Sludge and a few more traps, then we finally reach the territory of the Giant Moles. We just passed the most dangerous part of the trip, successfully avoiding all adult Arachnes. It's quite a feat, and it's all thanks to Alissa's nose.

We're sure we've passed the Arachne territory because the traps and mists suddenly stop, and soon after we meet our first Giant Mole.

"If I use [Quiet Steps] and [Quiet Action], then it's possible for me to assassinate it," Alissa proposes.

I thought before about the possibility of her becoming an assassin with her skills, but it makes me uneasy to put her in direct danger. She's my only companion, and I must admit that I'm rather possessive.

I cross my arms and think.

"Be happy that at least he cares about you," Roxanne comments with a kind smile after seeing my hesitation.

Alissa nods and states confidently, "I know Master is very reasonable, so I know he'll accept it, eventually."

I'm uncomfortable with how easy I'm being seen through, and it's also true I'm just stalling. I don't want to let Alissa go while I'm forced to wait here and twiddle my thumbs in the dark, but it will be so convenient if she kills it by herself.

The Mole is a burly enemy with a weak skull, so Alissa should be able to kill it with a single arrow, but I'm a bit scared of being mauled by its huge, heavy claws. If Alissa can kill it before it can even call for backup, then it'll save us so much time while also being much safer. I just have to trust she won't get herself killed.

I let out a sigh of tiredness and relent, "I surrender. Go kill it, Alissa."

They give each other a brief smile, then Alissa walks away without making a single sound.

I stare at the tunnel anxiously, my body too restless for me to sit down and rest.

After a minute in silence, Roxanne suddenly comments, "You two are very close."

I feel something off about her statement. "We don't know each other very long; I'm just clingy," I deny.

Roxanne shrugs. "Still, your relationship is enviable."

I turn and raise an eyebrow at her. "Even though she's a slave?"

"Does it matter if she's happy?" She retorts with a cheeky smile.

I knit my eyebrows in skepticism. "You can tell she's happy even though you've just met her today?"

Roxanne nods happily. "She's been smiling most of the time, except when you're under attack. You're always in the front, so I guess this is why you don't see it."

I suddenly start to feel insecure as I look back to the short time we've been together. I sit down beside Roxanne and facepalm with both hands. "What does she even see in me to be so happy?"

"You should ask her that yourself," Roxanne responds with a troubled tone.

I release my face and lean against the wall. "She's young and naive, so she might really be in love with me, but…"

"'But'?"

How do I say to her that in my world I would be called a pedophile in certain countries, a creep in others, arrested for slavery in most of the world, or be seen as two idiot teenagers in heat if we consider this-world-age as my real age?

Seeing my hesitation, Roxanne gives me a piece of advice, "I don't know what is on your mind but you should at least accept her feelings."

I cringe and try to put my feelings into words, "It's that... I'm from a faraway place. In my homeland, we'd be called idiot teenagers who don't know what love is. Slavery also isn't legal, so our relationship is even more absurd. What kind of thing is love between a master and a slave, anyway?"

She raises her eyebrows high and adjusts her glasses. "Slavery isn't legal? I'd like to visit that place, one day. But still, I say it again: at least accept her feelings. It's not like there's anything wrong with either of you, so you don't need to be so harsh on yourself, and just enjoy what you have."

_I'm being harsh on myself? Heh, I said I was going to abandon what held me down, but it's harder to do it when I'm not thinking with my dick._

"Perhaps…" I mutter as I reflect on her words.

_I like this cool, older-sister-like Roxanne, though. Why can't you be like this normally?_

Anyway, I think I've understood what's making me worry. If I don't change who I am, then I'll suffer, but I'll keep my humanity like Alissa pleaded, though it might hurt her, too, seeing me suffer. If I _do_ change, then I won't suffer, but Alissa might lose her hope in me, so it might hurt her anyway. Now _that's_ a dilemma.

While I think, Alissa comes back silently like a ghost, scaring us both.

"Ah-...!" Roxanne squeaks, but she immediately covers her mouth, muffling the sound.

Alissa's ears go flat as she apologizes cutely, "I'm sorry, Master and Miss Roxanne, I forgot to stop using [Quiet Steps]. Anyway, the mole is dead."

I quickly recollect myself, then I calmly question so she doesn't think I'm criticizing her, "Took you some time."

Her ears shoot up and she becomes serious again. "It was wary, so I had to move very slowly or else it would've heard me."

Even though these are weak monsters, they're still blind moles that rely on hearing, so it takes quite some skill to sneak up on one.

I grab her hand and give her a kind look as I plead, "I know skills like these make you stressed, so please tell me if you get tired. There's no rush, so we'll rest as much as we need."

She smiles sweetly and nods, making her ears sway. "Thank you for your consideration, Master."

Alissa kills five more Moles without a hitch. She's my own little assassin.

"You are now level twelve," says the soothing female voice.

Finally, it took some time. The spiders and moles are annoying, but they don't give much experience. The only real good source of experience was the almost-Arachne.

I put my new four points in [Sword Use] (now 16+2).

Alissa assassinates two more Moles, and we finally reach one of the entrances to the Spiral Springs dungeon.

The dungeon has a completely different atmosphere from the boring and unending dark tunnels of the Ant Hill. The walls and ceiling are made of cobble with patches of raw stone or exposed mineral veins; the walls are warped and full of curves; the ground is made of soft moss over raw stone, and it'd be nice to lay down on it if it wasn't so damp. We'll end up with wet clothes if we sit on the floor without a blanket to protect our asses.

A weak blue-green light coming from mana crystals illuminates the dungeons. They're cheap crystals that shine when they absorb mana, and since the dungeon is a solidification of a mana storm, mana crystals shine faintly forever. It's against the etiquette to take or sell these crystals since they're a huge convenience to all adventurers that come here.

We're currently at the top floor, and like the other dungeons, the floor is massive in length; possibly the size of a town. It's made of multiple large rooms randomly interconnected, and with the occasional shallow water pool occupying part of them. The top floor is safe, so we're going to sleep here.

The stairs are what gives it the name. They're merely slopes with faded steps where a channel runs and water trickles through, creating a nice and continuous sound of falling water. The slopes are in a spiral, and there's no railing, so the inner part of the spiral is open. That's where Spriggans like to put traps to make adventurers lose their footing and fall down. Each stair is around twenty meters in height, so a drop could be fatal, and we have fifteen sets of stairs to go down through.

I point to a corner, and Roxanne burns a large patch of moss, drying the floor. We sweep the ashes, and now we finally have a proper stone floor to sleep on. I pull out my tent while Roxanne pulls hers.

She conjures water on a bucket and heats it by herself so she can take a bath. Once she's done, we stop our watch and switch places with her. Alissa conjures the water, then I heat it, and we take a towel bath together.

I've found that the fastest way is to cast [ _Fireball_ ] on my palm, then submerge it into the bucket. It wastes a lot of mana, though.

Then I get to wash Alissa, and she washes me back, but, unfortunately, we can't make too much noise, so make her bite into a gag, and we use our mouths. There's no way I'm going to spend a night without touching her, so we have to do it this way.

Then we pull out our dinner. It's fried chicken! I mean, fried Dragolite. After a few bites, I finally remember what Dragolite reminds me of: chicken with rosemary. Then we eat our hot vegetable soup with toasted bread. Thank you, "Items." The convenience you bring is unmatched.

One of the more interesting parts of the meal, though, is that I have my first taste of juice in this world. Gorgon fruit tastes and looks a bit like blueberries mixed with a hint of lychee.

"Ah juice, thank you. No alcohol though?" Roxanne asks with a cheeky smile.

I shake my head. "I don't drink, and besides, we shouldn't drink on an expedition."

"Alright, alright..." Roxanne immediately gives up and rolls her eyes dramatically, then she gives me a curious look. "Honestly I'm envious of how big your [ _Item Box_ ] is, Mr. Ryder."

Well, here we go, insert dick joke here. I can't really spend points for an actual [ _Item Box_ ], though, and training with Alissa to learn this spell has been really hard.

"It's a natural gift, so I learned it super fast," I casually lie.

She snorts and remarks, "It's like you were born to be an adventurer."

"That's true," Alissa agrees wholeheartedly.

I give them a painful wry smile and deflect, "Well I'm envious of your [Mana Control], Miss Roxanne. This [ _Explosion_ ] spell is the mix of Water and [Fire Magic] at the same time, right?"

Roxanne opens her eyes wide and shouts, completely astonished, "My secret! How did you…"

I smile proudly as my guess was spot-on, then I give her a smug answer, "Knowledge from my homeland."

"Unfair!" Then she pouts cutely.

Alright, I've teased her enough, now it's time to retreat a bit. "But I can't use two magic schools at the same time, so you still have one secret, right?" I politely ask.

She crosses her arms and grumbles, "It's not like [ _Explosion_ ]; it's something every expert magician would have to learn one day."

That's interesting. Maybe one day I'll control all elements at will and become a demi-god? Well, anyway, it's time to change the topic. I'm curious about Roxanne's background.

"Say, Miss Roxanne, can you tell me about your race or your continent?" I gently ask, no hint of teasing in my tone anymore.

The pout fades away instantly and she brightens up. "Gladly! But first, I want to talk about the misconceptions a lot of people have about my race."

I blink blankly in surprise. I still have no idea about race dynamics in this world. "Oh? What are they about?"

She adjusts her glasses and assumes a teaching tone as she starts to recite, "Well, the first thing is that since we have 'succubus' as the name of our race, people think we're promiscuous, but that's not true! We were created based on the _myth_ of the succubus, but we aren't _actual_ succubi. It's just we just have a higher libido than other races, but we still choose our partners very carefully. Also, we're more carefree and open-minded than the other races, but that doesn't mean we are dumb and unreliable."

Just by looking at her, I can certainly see how the last one might've come into being. Curiously, the demon race seems to be the most common adventurer race on Rabanara aside from humans.

"The second misconception is that our horns and tails are sexual organs. _Some_ have feelings when you touch those parts, but it varies from person to person and from type to type."

_I can see that causing some misunderstandings._

"The third is less common, but some people think we're descendants from monsters. That's _definitely_ not true. The God of Creation made us just like all other humanoids. They might've used monsters as the basis for some races, but we don't have a single drop of monster blood in our bodies."

_I see. Being lumped together with their biggest enemy might hurt their pride._

Then she smiles, satisfied with our acceptance, and becomes more casual again. "These are the three things I always tell other people. Now, you do you want to hear something specific?"

"What about your birthplace?" I start.

She nods sagely and crosses her arms. "Ohh~… that's far away from here. I was born on the Maoka continent, on the west coast, in a small village inside our HolyLands. If you want a more precise location, it's at the west of the Death Valley, if you have heard of it."

_Nope, I haven't._

I tilt my head like Alissa and curiously ask, "Holy Lands? Death Valley?"

Alissa smiles awkwardly while Roxanne chuckles softly and answers, "Well, the Holy Lands are a place that no outsider can enter without a permit. It's not a large piece of land, but it's the place that our first ancestors were given by the God of Creation after their birth, so it's a sacred land for us. The Death Valley is a large piece of desert that's very famous among adventurers because there're a lot of very valuable monsters there." -Then she smiles bitterly- "It's also a dreadful place, so hot and dry nobody has ever crossed it, and all the monsters there are horribly dangerous."

_I think there's a place like that on Earth, too, minus the monsters._

"So do you have kingdoms, too?" I question further. The idea of "Holy Lands" makes me think they're religious, so maybe it's a theocracy.

She shatters my imagination with a shake of her head. "No, it's just a Council of Elders that's elected from among the aristocrats and clergy." - _Oh wait, "clergy"? So they_ are _religious, somehow?-_ "We do it the same as the elves, so we always had a good relationship with them. Human and dwarven nobility drama books are famously complex, and nobody wants any of that for our race."

We all share some chuckles. I watched Game of Thrones and House of Cards, and I don't want any of that drama, either. I'm way too straightforward to survive on that backstabbing nightmare.

Then I turn to Alissa and ask, "What about the wereanimals? How do you govern yourselves, Alissa?"

Her tone becomes energetic as she seems happy to talk about her people, "We have a Council of Elders, too, but they serve as advisors to the Chief of the Forest that they elect, which is the one who governs all the other clans, though the position generally stays within the same family. The Council is supposed to be composed of the wisest among us, while the leader should be the strongest man or woman of the tribe, but the clans choose their own candidates, so it varies between them."

I hum in thought. "The Chieftess you mentioned was that leader?"

She smiles a bit cheekily and giggles softly. "Yes and no. She and the current Chief were the two best candidates for this generation, so they decided to marry and share the title."

Roxanne laughs like a haughty lady and excitedly claps the tip of her fingers. "Hohoh, how romantic."

Alissa's smile turns wry. "Well, yes. I wasn't born when they married, but the Council of Elders was very amused. They even made their story into a play, to the embarrassment of the Chiefs.

"You think it could come to Rabanara? I'd watch that," Roxanne comments.

Alissa shrugs. "I don't know about that, but you might have more luck if you enter my clan's territory."

Roxanne leans forward, showing a lot of interest. "Oh, do they accept foreigners?"

Alissa stares at her cup as she recollects, "Only adventurers and merchants, but I think there are ways to get permits for other types of business. I have little idea how that works, but I know that they don't allow those who aren't werefoxes to settle on the land."

Roxanne nods in understanding. "Ah, then it'll be okay, I guess, so I might visit one day. Where is it?"

Alissa's eyes become faintly nostalgic. "West, beyond the mountain range, it's called the Misty Low Forest."

Roxanne brightens up. "I saw it on a map once. It's not far, so I'll definitely go."

I think for a moment. Her homeland is actually really close. Though we have to go a bit of a roundabout way because there are only a few spots where it's feasible to cross, I think it'd take only a few days to cross the mountain range in her fox form.

_Would it be too cruel to make this question…?_

I'm not able to hold myself back, so I tactfully ask her, "Alissa… would you like to go visit your homeland one day?"

Her ears go flat and her tail stops wagging as she thinks for a while, then she shakes her head in refusal. "Not yet, I'm not worthy of returning. I still need to work more, but… I'm really grateful you offered, Master." And she gives me a sweet smile.

I release my breath in relief. I guess that wasn't a bad choice to ask this.

Roxanne turns to me with a cheeky smile. "Ah, Mr. Ryder. I see you're reserved, but do you mind telling us more about your homeland?" She politely asks.

_Ah, shit, now that I asked about her homeland it's obvious she might ask about mine. There's no way I'm telling, though. I haven't prepared a proper lie for it yet, so I'm just going to avoid this._

Even Alissa seems interested in knowing more, so it hurts my heart to do this.

I take a sip of my juice to stall, then I gently shake my head as I apologize and explain myself, "I'm sorry, but I don't like talking about that place. It's not that I'm a runaway or a criminal, I just don't like talking about it."

Alissa nods obediently. She respects my feelings about this.

Roxanne raises an eyebrow in confusion, then she adjusts her glasses and returns to being cheeky. "Well then, if you don't wanna talk about your homeland, then let's talk about mine!" She exclaims with pride.

_Well, okay, her personality might not be_ that _bad._

Her stories are mainly comedies about the stupid things the people of her village do. They seem to share her carefree and positive mentality, and they also like to party a lot.

We talk for a long time, and we eventually get tired, so we go to sleep and start the watch cycle. We'll do three-hour cycles, starting with me, then Roxanne, and then Alissa. Roxanne drew the worse one since she'll have to sleep, wake up in the middle of the night, and then sleep again. It can be bad for the body to interrupt sleep like that, but them's the breaks. I could put out a summoned guard dog, but I don't want to show that magic to Roxanne yet.

They all go to sleep and I sit down outside the tents. Now that I'm all alone, I start to feel a little bit lonely.

_Hello, Goddess of Knowledge. How do you feel about today? I think it was pretty interesting. We found how a Giant Tarantula turns into an Arachne even though I want to forget that image; we found that the tarantulas are likely using the web as a way of mating, though I'll need to make an autopsy if I want to be able to discern their sexes and confirm this; we also found that love, or perhaps just plain sexual thoughts, or maybe even just masturbation is enough to break a mind poison, and we don't need to slap ourselves until we nearly bleed._

_I feel like this world is somewhat interesting, and I'm still thinking about the [Golemancy] skill. Maybe in a few levels, I could put some points into it and try it out. Perhaps that skill could start an industrial revolution in this world?_

_I'm still trying to keep the balance, so I don't attract too much attention from others and from the God of Destruction, but I could leave my knowledge behind after I die or something. I do have a degree in robotics, so it's likely to be my biggest contribution to this world._

_What do you think about this? Isn't this your reason of existence?_

Suddenly, I feel something change within me, so I open my stats and see that my "Piety" increased by 3 (now 6), then I see that under "Status Effects" there's a new entry: "Blessing of the Goddess of Knowledge."

_Oh, boy._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, it's been a long time since I've posted here. I didn't abandon this, and I won't any time soon, it's just that my workload didn't allow me to work on this for a while, but I'm balancing it better, so expect more regular updates, though I roughly estimate it'll take one-two weeks for another post if all things go well on my side.


End file.
